I was chatting with someone recently and the issue of leadership was mentioned. This person belong to the group of people who believe or think leadership is inborn. Literally, it means some people were born to be leaders!
I have in the past written about purposeful existence, not because i do not believe in a purposeful life but because that assumption is 'wrong'. It begged the question regarding the BEING of God. It raises question of partiality, segregation and inequality which negates the BEING of the Supreme Being.
The idea that anything is inborn suggest innatism which has many flaws. I do not believe anything in us is innate because if it is, we should know them ordinarily without going to school to learn them or be reminded of them as Plato and Socrates claimed.
Leadership come with many responsibilities. These responsibilities shaped the thinking and behavior of the leader in question. Just as Karl Marx had right argued that the material condition of every society determines everything and how things are done, it suffice to say that the material condition make these people attain the statuses of leaders.
Most of the popular leaders that did 'great' things become leaders by virtue of their material conditions. It is either their people were exploited, enslaved or treated unequally. This literally make some people to lead. In the course of leading, some became more aggressive than the other, some are calmer and some simply use reason to execute judgement. This is seen as things unfold. In the process, one member takes front line role and gradually people put responsibilities on his shoulders. These responsibilities become his guide. He becomes the figure of the people or group. He watches what he does or say because a wrong step would mean their doom.
If he ignores these responsibilities and his action brings negative consequences, he stopped being a leader to the general public. This is because they expect him to be responsible.
It is also possible to translate 'leadership is inborn' to mean some people are born into royal homes. So by virtue of that, the person is born a leader. Do not forget that many of these people do not exhibit the quality of a true leader which is 'responsibility'. Most cases, they act to defend the kingdom by sacrificing many 'innocent' people. Not all born of a royal blood are truly royal!
On the part of God, it suggests He created certain people specifically to be leaders and by virtue of that He has made some people to serve that. This suggests that their footsteps, decisions and everything they do is being guided by the Supreme Being.
This begged the question of ‘all man were created equal’. It also begged the idea of human freedom! That certain people were born leaders from birth suggest they have a determined destiny which i find very difficult to agree with. In fact the whole idea of a predetermined existence negate freewill!
Different questions could be raised even more than the ones I raised above and their answers would beg the question. Do not forget that as a philosopher, my interest is about raising fundamental questions on the subject matter rather than answering the questions raised!
Leaders are made by what they see, experienced, read and the material condition of their existence. It is possible that their consciousness is woken by the material condition of the people around them but that they have this innate gift to be a leader sound absurd!
In reality, nobody is born a leader but a leader can be born from an individual!
