Have you ever heard the phrase, "Great leaders are born, not made"? This quote sums up the basic tenant of the great man theory of leadership, which suggests that the capacity for leadership is inborn. According to this theory, you're either a natural born leader or you're not.
The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
History of the Great Man Theory of Leadership
The great man theory of leadership became popular during the 19th-century. The mythology behind some of the world's most famous leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander the Great helped contribute to the notion that great leaders are born and not made. In many examples, it seems as if the right man for the job seems to emerge almost magically to take control of a situation and lead a group of people into safety or success.
Historian Thomas Carlyle also had a major influence on this theory of leadership, at one point stating that, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." According to Carlyle, effective leaders are those gifted with divine inspiration and the right characteristics.
Some of the earliest research on leadership looked at people who were already successful leaders. These individuals often included aristocratic rulers who achieved their position through birthright. Because people of a lesser social status had fewer opportunities to practice and achieve leadership roles, it contributed to the idea that leadership is an inherent ability.
Even today, people often describe prominent leaders as having the right qualities or personality for the position, implying that inherent characteristics are what make these people effective leaders.
Arguments Against the Great Man Theory of Leadership
Sociologist Herbert Spencer suggested that the leaders were products of the society in which they lived. In The Study of Sociology, Spencer wrote, "you must admit that the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown....Before he can remake his society, his society must make him."
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References
Carlyle, T. (1888). On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, Fredrick A. Stokes & Brother, New York.
Hirsch, E.D. (2002). The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (Third Edition). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
Spencer, H. (1896). The Study of Sociology, Appleton, New York.
Straker, D. Great man theory. Changing Minds. Found online at http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/great_man_theory.htm
