are leaders born, made or just poached?
DESCRIPTION
http://www.astrotech.co.za/training/mngseminars/MasteringLeadership.asp The question that is posed by this article is not a new one. However, it’s undoubtedly as relevant today as it was when it was first asked. After considering various facts that substantiate all sides of this argument, chief executive of AstroTech Training, Liza van Wyk, concludes that leadership skills can either be innate or developed - but there are common characteristics that generally define leaders. AstroTech provides effective management courses for people who are looking to improving their leadership skills.TRANSCRIPT
Leader16 independentJUNE 30 2013
THE SUNDAY
WHEN Agang SA leaderMamphela Ramphelelaunched the party, shewas accused of failingto announce prominent
individuals who had joined the party asit prepares to contest next year’s gener-al elections. All she said was manyexperienced parliamentarians and“battle-hardened activists” would joinAgang’s national and provincial lead-ers in the coming months.
For me this evoked the age-oldchicken-and-egg question: Are leadersborn or are they made? Why wouldAgang depend on ready-made leadersfrom other parties?
Why can’t Agang SA and everypolitical party, company or organisa-tion, breed, groom or produce its ownleaders? After all, countries, partiesand even companies groom their ownleaders. Where was US PresidentBarack Obama 15 years ago? Wherewas British Prime Minister DavidCameron six years ago? Where wasDemocratic Alliance leader LindiweMazibuko a few years ago?
Where was Adrian Gore (Groupchief executive of Discovery Group) 20years ago, or Sim Shabalala (StandardBank joint chief executive) five yearsago?
When did you first hear about theseleaders? The above political and busi-ness leaders and hundreds of othersare evidence that some individuals are
born with natural abilities that propelthem to leadership. On the other handit is possible to develop leadershipskills in an individual.
Too often we see what appear to benatural leadership skills only as peopleemerge from the shadows of outgoingleaders – from Bill Clinton to Obama,from Jaco Maree to Sim Shabalala –and fail to see the work, time, and effortthat the individuals, parties and com-panies have devoted to getting them toa position of leadership.
There are many witty quotations onwhat leadership means to the peopleand society at large. Harold R McAlin-don said: “A leader may not followwhere the path may lead. He goesinstead where there is no path andleaves a trail.”
Thomas Carlyle described leader-ship in simple words: “The history of
the world is but the biography of greatmen.”
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said:“What chance gathers is easily scat-tered. A great person attracts great peo-ple and knows how to hold them togeth-er.”
So to the question of are leadersborn or made, my answer is simple:leaders are born and leaders are made.
Regardless of the leader being bornor developed, there are commondenominators such as intelligence,communication skills, charisma, fol-lowers, creativity, and humility thatautomatically surface as they are givenan opportunity to assume leadershiproles.
On the other hand, I would arguethat those qualities are the result ofinteractions, experiences and transac-tions involving a person from birthuntil the time that you meet them.
For me, the four – intelligence, com-munications skills, charisma and fol-lowers – make a leader.
Here the late British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher was spot on whenshe said: “Watch your thoughts for theybecome words. Watch your words forthey become actions. Watch youractions for they become habits. Watchyour habits for they become your char-acter. And watch your character for itbecomes your destiny. What we think,we become.
“My father always said that… and I
think I am fine.” The Iron Lady was right. We all
admire a leader who inspires us, standsby us in times of joy and pain andshares with us joys and triumphs.Whether a leader is born or made, whatactually matters is the ability to leadfrom the front, confidently, winning theconfidence of those who look up to you.
Good leaders create a vision, artic-ulate the vision, passionately own thevision and relentlessly drive it to com-pletion. That’s what great leaders aremade of.
Who remembers this vision fromformer president Nelson Mandela? “Ihave fought against white domination,and I have fought against black domi-nation. I have cherished the ideal of ademocratic and free society in whichall persons will live together in harmo-ny with equal opportunities. It is anideal which I hope to live for, and to seerealised. But my Lord, if needs be, it isan ideal for which I am prepared todie.”
Indeed, a leader with vision, such asMandela, has a clear, vivid picture ofwhere to go. But it’s not enough to havea vision; leaders must also share it andact upon it.
It is at this point when I agree withthose who say leaders are made. Youcan’t teach charisma and character.
■ Van Wyk is chief executive of
AstroTech Training.
WHEN President Barack
Obama returns home after
his visit to South Africa
and two other African
states it is to be hoped that
he will do so with a sense of
accomplishment other than a tick next the box
of “things to do – visit Africa”.
The ascension of the first African-
American to the Oval Office in 2009 raised
hopes among many that the arrival of Obama
would lead to an increased focus on the
continent.
Americans say: “It is not over until the Fat
Lady sings” but with only about three years
left in office, Obama has left it late to dispel the
perception that Africa has been low on his
administration’s list of priorities.
To be fair, these priorities have been many
and pressing, not least of which was pulling
the US from the brink of an economic
depression and then clawing out of a
prolonged recession.
Then, after a scandal-free first term, Obama
has been devoting time to tackling the crises
that, in their various forms, afflict all US
administrations.
The latest of these – electronic spying –
erupted just as Obama set off for his belated
African safari.
And the nations on the list for his short tour
tell much of the desire for a quick, happy trip.
Missing from the itinerary is the land of his
birth, Kenya, where both the president and his
deputy are wanted by the International
Criminal Court.
Also missing is the powerhouse of Nigeria,
subject to recent US criticism over human
rights abuses. On the menu are peaceful
Senegal and Tanzania and South Africa.
In his only other visit to Africa Obama
spent less than a day in Ghana, so in
comparison it could be said the American
president is indeed devoting more time to
what the Chinese, for one, have clearly marked
as a place of economic opportunities. Indeed
trade has been placed high on the stated
agenda of Obama’s trip, and it is there that he
can leave a mark, even if it is to, in effect,
further the policies of his predecessors Bill
Clinton and George W Bush.
Both pushed for increased trade, with
Clinton introducing the African Growth and
Opportunity Act, with its generous provisions
for preferential trade agreements between
qualifying African countries and the United
States.
Under its provision trade has soared, to the
benefit of many Africans in many nations,
including South Africa.
It is up to the US Congress to renew it, but if
Obama is to prove his commitment to this
continent, then his championing its cause
should help sway those who have thus far been
disappointed in America’s first black
president.
Are leaders born,made or just poached?
MoshoeshoeMonare
MAKAZIWE Mandela’semotional outburstand her lashing of themedia wereregrettable, but
understandable.She is right to accuse the
media of gross insensitivity,considering the journalists hoveringlike birds of prey at the MediclinicHeart Hospital, where NelsonMandela has been for the past threeweeks.
Like the rest of her family, she isin pain. Mandela is not just anational icon to her, but also a father,who was taken away from her formost of her life.
She was forced to share him withthe rest of the world when Madibawas finally freed in 1990. Herbitterness and uncontrollable angerare justified.
She and her family have had tocare for the frail Mandela while therest of us go on with our lives – untilhe is in hospital.
We only remember him onMandela Day.
“It is very crass. “The fact that my dad is a global
icon, one of the 25 most influentialpeople of the 21st century doesn’tmean people cannot respect theprivacy and dignity of my dad.
“There’s a sort of a racist elementwith the foreign media where theyjust cross boundaries.
“It’s like vultures, waiting when alion has devoured a buffalo, waitingthere for the last carcass. That’s theimage we have as a family.
“We don’t mind the interest, I justthink it has gone overboard.
“I don’t know why these peoplecome here and violate everything inthe book,” she told SABC TV onThursday.
Inasmuch as I agree with her thatit was unacceptable for some of us tocreate the impression that anyonecould lie about the state of Mandela,she must never underestimate thenation and the world’s anxiety aboutthe icon.
I agree with her that some of therumours and reporting werecallously insensitive. An Australianpaper reported on Thursday thatMandela had died.
However, I think Makaziwemisunderstood the role of theresponsible media.
The responsible media has toldthe world that Madiba is critical butstable, and allayed fears anddispelled callous rumours.
The responsible media willconvey the family and people’sprayers, their hope and pain.
Makaziwe must remember it wasthe same responsible media thatreminded the world that NelsonMandela was still silenced andlanguishing on Robben Island.
It was the media, conveying thehopes and feeling of the people, thatensured that he and his comradeswere not forgotten.
It was the same internationalmedia that enquired about hiswelfare, plight, and health to makesure that Pretoria did not harm him.
His health is not just anothersensational story, but a painfulexperience to all of us.
It is out of concern, and not just aprofessional duty, that we keepwatch at Mediclinic with anxietyand sorrow.
Makaziwe, no one will disputethat Madiba is your father and thatyou feel more pain than the rest ofus, but the world loves him too.
At least Winnie Madikizela-Mandela captured the essence ofthis moment when she appealed tothe media on Friday to understandthe family’s “bitterness” given thecircumstances, but also cautionedagainst irresponsible coverage.
THE upcoming feature onNelson Mandela, given therecent panic surroundinghis health, needs anupdate. Long Walk to Free-
dom is the definitive fea-ture film that will star Idris Elba asMandela and is directed by JustinChadwick, an English director.
I have nothing against either ofthem but I believe given the subjectmatter and our fledgling film industry,this film should have starred a SouthAfrican and been directed by a SouthAfrican. Mandela is South African, weare not merely subjects but alive andengaged in the world.
We have many talented men andwomen. The payback for Mandela’sprogressiveness, as usual, seems tocome in a manner in which ordinarySouth Africans pay the price, and aretaken advantage of.
It is to take advantage of the Strug-gle against apartheid to assume that aMandela can be played by everyoneexcept a South African, and that thereare no home-grown directors who canre-tell this multi-layered story. My expe-riences with this film’s productionteam were that they were bent on usingthe director they wanted and that oth-er directors could not bid, or provide,treatments. At least this is what hap-pened when I made the suggestion towrite an adaptation on Mandela’s book.
What you now have is a film aboutMadiba, written by a Briton, directedby a Briton, filmed by a Briton and act-ed by a Briton.
As early as 2011 I had written anopen letter to Mandela and his Founda-tion, addressing this oversight andwhat will for generations be a problemassociated with this film. I was fortu-nate to meet Anant Singh in New York
during his promotion of Fourth Grader
last year. Thereafter I tried to forge arelationship with the “pre-eminentSouth African film-maker”, but to noavail.
I raised the subject of Mandelabeing played by a non-South Africanand directed by a non-South African asbeing offensive and marginally insensi-tive directly to Sanjeev, Singh’s partnerwho is aware of my criticism of thisendeavour. I also raised the issue ofperhaps getting John Kani to direct.
What comes out of this situation isthat South African film-makers are notrespected by other South African film-makers; South Africans can only besubjects not creators of their own sto-ries, and that South Africans are seenas arrogant to even suggest ownershipof their cultural heritage. See the fias-co that surrounded the making of thestory on Winnie Mandela – where inthe world do you make a movie about afamous person without their permis-sion, even if a book was written aboutthat person?
A South African director wouldhave portrayed Madiba’s life not inromantic terms but in terms of deepcharacter understanding, context and
in unapologetic terms. I can imagine my Long Walk to Free-
dom opening with the show of splen-dour in a white suburb contrastedthereafter with Mandela’s rural lifeand the harsh realities of a black SouthAfrican in 1930s South Africa – to putus in the furnace of apartheid rightaway – for Mandela would not have hadsuch a great life if it were not for thecontext of apartheid. This is not acourt case Mandela vs South Africa,but a rich multi-layered story in whichMadiba has given and received frommany.
South Africa has a promising filmindustry but we will never get aheadwhen the most prominent among us donot reach back and find talent. Some-thing has to be noted on the point thatwas given concerning Madiba’s height– South Africans are not that tall. Thechap playing Nelson Mandela looksnothing like him. Is this a problem? Iwill answer that question with a ques-tion – when period pieces are made,don’t they have to look like the period?In this case the main ingredient/char-acter are unlike the real thing.
This is a slippery slope, and here werecall Paul Newman in Hombre wherehe played a blue-eyed Native American,and Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhiin Gandhi. We should not legitimatisethat non-whites can only be subjectsand not creators because they are arro-gant, inexperienced, and don’t look thepart. That is not a reason but merely anexcuse for the underlining manner inwhich movies are made and the tradi-tion of resentment against black film-makers.
In a show of duplicity, even RichardBurton looked like Churchill in Walk
with Destiny (The Gathering Storm inthe US); James Bond is perennially
played by a Briton – personally I thinkHumphrey Bogart would have made agood Bond. Character in films is some-thing invaluable; it is the essence andthe life breath of the story. Even whenthe actor is finished acting, you tend toassociate him with the characterplayed. This to say that this would havebeen a great opportunity to introduce atalented South African to the world – achance that has been squandered.
Film-making should be an all inclu-sive process, a fun process, not anadversarial and pretentious show ofeconomic might, leaving the subjectsangry and resentful at the final prod-uct. I can imagine that it’s hard onSingh, as well in terms of raising themoney, but this is a project that wealthySouth African industrialists (some ofthem Madiba’s friends) should havefunded. If not this project, then whichone will they fund?
If we are to accept the paternalisticargument of the film-makers thatSouth Africans are not ready, then helpus – invite us to see what ready lookslike. This was our shining moment, toshow the world what we could do andwe were robbed of that moment.
There are more films to come fromSouth Africa, on Shaka Zulu; Christi-aan Barnard (first heart surgeon);Mapungubwe (the lost city); AlbertLuthuli; King Moshoeshoe; Gary Play-er and Robert Sobukwe – even WorldWar ll’s General Jan Smuts deserves afilm – but next time let’s get it right.South Africa is a talented nation, let’snot sell ourselves short.
■ Sibanda is a South African-born
American writer, film director and
author of a collection of literary poems
The Songs of Soweto: Poems From APost Apartheid South Africa.
Long walk does not lead to SA actors
Ken Sibanda
Liza van Wyk
Accepting an honorary doctoratefrom the Sheikh Anta DiopUniversity of Dakar, Senegal,Nelson Mandela says: “Africacannot be reborn while itsinstitutions of government donot respect the entitlement of allcitizens to all basic humanrights.” – June 30, 1992
Mandela HIStory
We do shareyour pain,dear Makaziwe
DEPUTY EDITOR
Japhet Ncube
011 633 2827
SUNDAY LIFE EDITOR
Arja Salafranca
011 633 2464
BOOKS EDITOR
Mary Corrigall
011 633 2440
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR
Kenneth Chikanga
011 633 2226
SPORT
Mark Beer
011 633 2374
ADDRESS
47 Sauer Street
Johannesburg 2000
Tel: 011 633 2265
Fax: 011 633 2216
ADVERTISING
Jacqueline Bayes
011 639 7136
SUBSCRIPTIONS
JOHANNESBURG 0860 326 262
daily 6:30am – 6:30pm
weekends 7:30am – 9:30 am
DURBAN 031 308 2022
daily 6:30am – 6:30pm
weekends 7:30am – 9:30 am
CAPE TOWN 0800 220 770
daily 6:30am – 6:00pm
weekends 7:00am – 10:00 am
Issue No 907
The Sunday Independent is printed by Caxton Printers at 16 Wright Street,Industria for theproprietors and publishers,Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd,and is registered at the GPO asa newspaper.The price,including tax,is:South Africa R16.50; Swaziland and Zimbabwe R19,Botswana R16.50
The Sunday Independent subscribes to the South African Press Code,which prescribes thatnews must be truthful,accurate,fair and balanced.If we don’t live up to the code,please contact:The Press Ombudsman, 2nd Floor, 7 St. Davids’s Park, St Davids Place, Parktown, 2193 or POBox 47221, Parklands 2121. Phone 011 484 3612/8; fax 011 484 3619.
Queries about the standards and principles of advertising can be sent to:The Secretary,Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, 41555, Craighall, 2024. The circulation of the
Sunday Independent is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations,at Suite 5, 158 JanSmuts, 9 Walters Ave, Rosebank, 2196 or PO Box 47221, Parklands 2121.
Copyright:The reproduction or broadcast without permission of articles published in thisnewspaper is forbidden and reserved toIndependent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd,underSection 12(7) of the Copyright Act,1978.
EDITOR
Moshoeshoe Monare
011 633 2180
Obama’s visitmay yet putfocus on Africa