Are leaders born or can they be made……..

If you have not figured it out by now one of my passions, or should I say obsessions is LEADERSHIP!

For most of my adult life I have been on a relentless mission to find out where leaders come from and how they are made. So back to the question. Are leader born that way and come into this world destine to be leaders? Or, are they developed and grow up to become leaders?

My answer may surprise you. I think it is NEITHER!

But before I explain why, first what is a leader? For many what comes to mind is doing well at a job and suddenly the boss promotes you to manager. Or you join the military put on a gold bar and told to lead a platoon. Or you run for an elected office and win.

To me a true natural leader is someone who others find not only worthy but irresistible to follow with the energy, drive and passion to not only inspire but move everyone to action towards in a mission or a cause bigger than themselves. Their character is beyond reproach. They end up making leadership look effortless. They lead others without even knowing it.

So…..what do you think? Can your child be this leader? The answer is absolutely YES!

But, back to the question - Are leaders born or made? Again, my answer is neither. The reason why is …. every single one of us already has inside of us EVERYTHING we need to be a true leader. But we never let it out!

You don’t really need to be taught to be a leader because you already have it inside you. Most are not born leaders because while you may have a leader inside you, what if it never comes out? Like a baby bird that never ever comes out of its shell?

So all we need to do to make your child a leader is bring out 100% of the leader already inside them. 100% of their potential. Therein lies the dilemma, almost all of us hold back or suppress who we really are and can be……and much more than we realize. We keep that leader inside of us boxed up. We hide our true identity behind a shell. We become guarded and seek to look and act the way we think others want us to. This shell can be very valuable especially during those tough middle school years. It protects us and keeps us safe. Too safe at times. We spend years and years hardening that shell to the point where it becomes so thick and hard we completely forgot who we are inside. That pure potential inside of us when we are born sees only a fraction of itself during our lifetime. Again, like that baby bird that never broke out of its shell.

Why am I obsessed with leadership? Because I am a good example of someone with that hard shell. I held back so, so much when I was young and still do. When I was young I was shy and a perfectionist. I have to thank my wonderful mother for this. There was a “tipping point” for me that changed my life. I can tell you the exact day it happened – July 6, 1977. It was the day I had the opportunity to enter the United State Naval Academy. This lit the flame. Since then I have been a sponge researching, attending training sessions and seminars, and learning from other leaders. Better yet I got to teach, test and practice what I learned in as a naval officer, teacher, coach and in corporate sales management.

I tell you all this not to boast but to show how the last 40 years have all lead to the most important element of this dojo – the Leadership Program. To put it simply, in this program I just take what I have learned about developing a leader and distill it into a simple premise:

“This is what I wish someone had taught me when I was 13 or 17!”

Our next Leadership Program ‘Class of 2017’ is currently in the application phase with interviews and selection just before the first session on October 7. It consists of eight monthly seminars starting in October and graduating in May. One parent will be required to attend with their child. This is adult level personal development and leadership material.

If you think your child might be ready for to become a leader, contact me right away for more information or to start the application process.

You can help your child break through that shell and reach their “tipping point”!

Yours for rock solid (leader) kids,

Sensei