By: Sara Henning
Marketing Coordinator

Vince Lombardi once said “Leaders are made, they are not born.” Which strikes up the question, how are leaders made? So many articles and discussions revolve around what makes a good leader, the traits they have, and what they do; but how did they get there? You cannot tell a story of success that starts from the middle or the end; a proper story starts at the beginning. This is where great leadership starts.

As a young professional, only a couple years into my career, I have not yet had the opportunity to fully lead anyone besides myself in a professional environment. However I have had the great opportunity to be led by someone else. This person has an exceptionally unique perspective on how to influence those he mentors. To answer my question, how are leaders made, I needed to dig deeper.

I must first figure out how great leaders have been influenced, before they were even recognized as great leaders. To uncover these influences, I needed to reflect on the impact his leaders made on him and the influence that my mentor has had on myself. Through this reflective journey I realized there are some lessons that are taught intentionally and then there are lessons that I have learned simply by just observing. My leader wasn’t always aware he was teaching me these lessons, but it is through these indirect lessons that a great leader came to be. Below are those lessons.

These are the lessons my mentor learned through his experiences:

• There is no situation that cannot be built upon. Finding value from every situation is something my leader did, that I do today. Staying level headed, and being able to “roll with the punches” is just something you have to do.
• The mentors that influenced myself always encouraged and promoted success. They would set me up for success, utilizing my specific talents towards what made sense for the business goals. Because they understood how to leverage the company strengths, they were always able to help me leverage my strengths with it.
• I graduated with an accounting degree, looking for jobs until a network connection took a chance on me. I was hired for a job I didn’t have much experience in. However my mentor saw this an opportunity, I was a “clean slate”. He could mold my goals and talents in with the company’s goals. As a “clean slate” he taught me all the right tactics right from the start.
• I always noticed how my leaders would always give credit to the team first. They stood in front and took full responsibility and never blamed others based on a bad outcome.
• Portray confidence.

These are the Lessons I observed from him:

• Take a step back, breath, stay level headed and go turn nothing into something.
• Leaders are not good leaders unless they help the ones they lead to succeed; not by their own definition of success but by the definition of the mentored and where they see their goals. Leaders set up their teams to be successful, and begin building their team with the end in mind. They lead their team in a way that will help them grow and reach success based on their own professional goals, AND the businesses goals.
• It’s ok to hire someone without experience, this just means that the leader is confident in themselves, and willing to challenge their leadership skills.
• Our business, our people, are successful because of a process. Success doesn’t happen in a day. It takes time to become a team, but stick with them, and they will reward you.
• "You don't throw your team in the fire, you throw yourself on the stake. That's a leader." This means that you believe in yourself and believe in your team. A good leader will take the responsibility of their mistakes, instead of blaming the team.
• Be certain in your actions, you know how to do your job, and you know how to do it well. Confidence is key.

Did you notice a pattern? My leader and I had similar experiences. Great leaders are made from the leaders before them. This is a cycle that is passed down from generation to generation. From a recent article I just read: “How To Rewire Your Brain To Become An Exceptional Leader,” this cycle is no accident. My indirect lessons that were unintentionally taught is something beyond just learning leadership, it is leadership science.

“Humans have what are called "mirror neurons" in nearly every part of the brain... Mirror neurons cause people to imitate the behaviors they see in others. Therefore, to create certainty in others you must first create certainty in yourself. This is why great leaders always seem so self-confident.”

In Conclusion: leaders are NOT born, but they ARE made; with some knowledge from your leader, confidence in yourself and in your team, and a little help from science, the leadership cycle will continue, naturally.

So this is what I believe:

Current Leaders don’t always have to sit down and teach something. Practice what you preach, do what you do well and be confident. Success will take some time. However, a great leader always believes in themselves, and in their team.

Future leaders must OBSERVE. If you found yourself under the wing of a good leader, just take note on how they deal with stress, struggles, success, and most importantly how do they view themselves, and how do they view you as a person? How do they support your goals? You will pick up on those attributes, based on your mirror neurons, and complete them every day. Then one day you will realize that you can be a great leader too, passing it down onto the next generation and reviving the cycle of great leadership.

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