Are Leaders Made Through Adversity?

By Lance Winslow

It’s been said that some are born leaders, and whereas, I believe a bit of that is true, I am still on-board with the Nurture over Nature Theory when it comes to true leadership. In other words, leaders are made, sometimes they make themselves. Let me explain one type of leader who derives their strength of character from previous adversity. These leaders are made by overcoming challenges in their lives, when most people would just give up, yet they press on, and in the process they lead by example, often without even realizing that their inner leadership skills have just been born. I call them Born Again Leaders.

Yes, we all know that adversity builds character and it would be good to pass some of that along, but if no one is ready to receive it, then it is ‘pearls to swine’ and thus, sometimes leadership is more about ego, than anything else. The born again leader of this type wants to enlighten others that it is possible to go the distance and wants to give strength to others, instilling in them a can-do attitude, belief that they can achieve, but that belief has to come from within, just as it has for the born again leader himself.

Nevertheless, once these skills are passed on, the follower will never forget them and are well on their way to becoming a leader themselves. One thing for certain is that leaders of this type really love to help people conquer their own demons, and overcome their own problems – it seems to turn them on at a real personal level – it seems to become their life’s mission. Any company, agency or non-profit would be wise to have leaders of this type in their employ. Of course, it’s hard to find such leaders because resumes usually do not include personal hardship or overcoming of such drastic life hardships.

One way I’ve learned to find such leadership is to read resumes from War Veterans who’d actually been in combat with a small team. It’s this sort of real life experience that seems to make or break people. When you come out the other side of such a challenge typically you are a changed man, soon changed women as women in the US are now seeing direct combat in our military forces – if that person was in a leadership position at the time, even better.

I’ve also discovered cancer survivors who have answered questions about time lapses in their resume – “I had cancer and it took two-years, but I beat it,” they will say. I say good, “You’re Hired – because nothing we do here will ever be as hard as that, congratulations!”

About
Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net – Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow. Lance also writes eBooks on all sorts of topics including this one, check out the selection.