Learn to Lead: Key Environmental Factors that Contribute to Leadership

In the prequel to this?post,?Born to Lead: Do You Possess the "Leadership Gene"?, I shared that approximately one-third of leadership occupancy?(i.e., the extent to which individuals occupy?positions of formal leadership in organizational settings) was due to genetics[1]. I then suggested that if you are inherently extroverted, have a magnetic personality, are fearless, and highly competitive, you have a "genetic shortcut" to emerging as a leader from amongst a peer group because you likely possess the leadership gene.?

But what if you do not have the natural leadership qualities provided by the leadership gene but still desire to lead.?Is there anything you can do to increase your chances of assuming a role of significant influence and authority? The short answer is yes; there is much you can do because science suggests about two-thirds of leadership occupancy comes from environmental influences and learning[1,2].?

Leadership can be learned; two-thirds of it to be precise.?

Below I offer four science-proven concepts for environment-based leadership learning. If you are not a "natural born" leader, or even if you are, follow these four tips to get a jump start on emerging?as a leader.

1.?Read, read, read... and then read some more.

Training and development is one proven avenue to enhance?your leadership ability[2]. When I began my "corporate" leadership learning journey many years ago, I was fortunate enough to be employed at one of the best organizations in the world at training, developing and producing leaders. However,?not every aspiring leader has access to a Procter & Gamble when developing your "leadership legs". Whether you do or not, I recommend you?immerse yourself with as much "leadership" reading material as you can?find. After all, you are responsible for your own training and development. Not your employer. Not your boss. YOU!

As for me, in the early days, I focused on leadership fundamentals. I wanted to know and needed to learn the most basic and essential principles of leadership. One book in particular was very helpful when I was getting my "leadership legs" under me: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills"?by Randall D. Ponder. It is a very practical "blueprint" that focuses on?fifteen core essentials of leading people. An equally practical but more recently published guidebook is "The Leadership Book" by Mark Anderson. "The Leadership Book" covers essentially the same material as "The Leader's Guide", but, in a much different presentation that highlights 50 key areas of leadership that any leader may face on any given day.?One final selection is "Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading" by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky. If you do not have the leadership gene, this book offers insight and techniques to stay in the leadership game when the going gets tough.

2. Find Two?Mentors

Learning from a mentor is also a proven approach to improve?leadership skills[2]. If you do not possess the leadership gene, I encourage you to find not one, but two mentors. The first should be someone with your temperament –?a "learned" leader who is "absent" of the leadership gene, but, who nevertheless, has managed to ascend to a position of significant influence and/or authority. Your objective with this relationship is to learn from someone like yourself on the relevant aspects of leadership – from learning and exercising various leadership skills to standing out and getting noticed among colleagues with leadership gene-type personalities. This is the type of leader you should try to emulate because his or her temperament will be similar to your own.

Your second mentor should be a leader who clearly possesses the leadership gene. Your rationale and goal in establishing this relationship?is also to learn, but now from someone representative of those you have to compete against for those coveted leadership positions in your organization. With this mentor, you should benchmark your ideas, approaches, and actions for any relevant situation against how your mentor would handle the same situation. In this way, you have the opportunity to evaluate your approach against that of someone who thinks differently, behaves differently and is "wired" differently from yourself.?

3. Practice in a "safe" environment?

Direct experiential practice is also noted as an environmental factor that influences one's ability to lead[2].?But?when you do not have the leadership gene, immediately stepping into a highly visible leadership role when and where it matters most, e.g., at work, can be scary and risky.?If you fail, your performance and leadership stock could plummet beyond the

point of recovery. Therefore, I advocate you gain leadership practice in a "safe" (i.e.,non-work related) environment such as within familial, community, civic, educational, or religious settings. By doing this, you will be able?to experiment with your style, your language, and your actions. You will have the opportunity to assess what works best and least without having the added pressures of potentially affecting your status at work if things do not go exactly as you wish.

4.?Find a "Leadership" Buddy

When developing your leadership skills, particularly in the absence of having the leadership gene, getting input from a peer, or peer group is invaluable for several reasons[2]. First, peer learning is a bidirectional activity based on the Law of Psychological Reciprocity, which has as its basis that we are unconsciously psychologically bound to respond in kind to any deed or?gesture directed towards us. Hence, if you are able to give feedback to your peers on leadership development, they?will feel psychologically?obligated to return the favor and give you feedback on your skill development. Second, peer relationships can be long term.?Establishing open, honest, and trustful relationships with peers?who are capable of providing meaningful, easily interpretable feedback?provides the opportunity to track your skill development over time.?Third, through peer learning, you are able to simultaneously learn and teach based on mutual experiences, thereby, building your confidence in giving feedback and expanding your knowledge based on the experiences of others.

To end,?the leadership arena is not closed to you if you do not possess the leadership gene. Yes, you will have to work harder than those who possess?it to emerge as a leader. But, to be clear, whether you have the leadership gene or not, most of what we view as effective leadership can be learned. Start your learning journey now.?If you focus on training, learning from mentors and peers, and practicing in safe environments, you will establish?your "leadership legs" before you know it.?Best of luck to you!

Thank you for reading my article. Learn?to Lead: Key Environmental?Factors that Contribute to Leadership?is the 15th article from Dr. Michael Edwards. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe to my Newsletter,?Leadership Explained,?to get notified when I publish a new article. Please 'share' this article with your network, click 'like', and/or leave a comment.?Click 'Follow' if you wish to follow me on LinkedIn. Have a look at my other Leadership Explained articles by clicking here.

References?

1. Arvey, R., Rotundo, M., Johnson, W., Zhang, Z., McGue, M. (2006)?The determinants of leadership role occupancy: Genetic and personality factors. The Leadership Quarterly, 17 (1), pp. 1–20. Article retrieved from https://bschool.nus.edu/departments/ManagementNOrganization/publication/RichArveypublist/leadership%20role%20occupancy.%20arvey.pdf.

2. Arvey, R., Zhang, Z., Avolio, B., Krueger, R. (2007)?Developmental and genetic determinants of leadership role occupancy among women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92 (3), pp. 693–706. Article retrieved from https://bizfaculty.nus.edu/media_rp/publications/Xn5mR1422939585.pdf.