The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that

Hear the words of Warren Bennis, sage of leadership and teacher of generations, who declared: “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” In this proclamation lies both a challenge and a liberation: the challenge to those who believe leadership to be destiny, and the liberation for all who would rise, knowing that leadership is not fate but formation, not inheritance but discipline.

The meaning of this teaching is clear: the myth of born leaders is dangerous because it breeds both arrogance and despair. The one who thinks himself chosen by nature may grow proud, careless, and unteachable. The one who thinks himself unfit by birth may surrender his potential, never daring to rise. Thus the myth shackles both the strong and the weak. But Bennis, like a herald of truth, breaks this illusion, declaring that leaders are made—forged by experience, sharpened by struggle, and refined by choice.

History offers radiant examples of this truth. Consider Abraham Lincoln, born in poverty, with no noble lineage, no wealth, and no early promise of greatness. He was not “born” a leader by any measure of birthright or charisma. Yet through perseverance, learning, and the fire of adversity, he rose to lead a fractured nation through its darkest hour. His leadership was made, not given by nature, and his story stands as an eternal rebuke to the myth of leadership by blood.

On the other hand, many who were “born” to rule proved unworthy of their stations. Kings crowned at birth, heirs raised in privilege, often lacked wisdom, compassion, or strength. Their genetic right to power did not gift them the qualities of leadership. Nero inherited the throne of Rome, but his rule brought ruin and flames. In him we see the danger of the myth: birth alone cannot create leaders. True leadership comes not from inheritance, but from the fires of growth, humility, and service.

Bennis’s words also speak to the importance of formation. Leadership is not a gift bestowed, but a craft cultivated. The warrior is trained in battle, the thinker in study, the leader in both failure and triumph. Each challenge faced, each burden carried, each lesson learned shapes the soul of the leader. Those who believe in the myth may avoid this discipline, but those who embrace the truth understand that leadership is a lifelong journey of becoming.

The lesson, then, is one of hope and responsibility. If leaders are made, then every person has within them the seed of leadership. Not all will lead nations, but all can lead in families, in communities, in workplaces, in causes great and small. The question is not whether you were born with the “right” qualities, but whether you will cultivate the qualities of courage, humility, vision, and perseverance. Leadership is not bestowed by nature, but built by choice.

Therefore, beloved listeners, let your practice be this: reject the myth of birthright in leadership. Instead, embrace the discipline of becoming. Seek growth in your failures, courage in your trials, wisdom in your learning. Do not despise small beginnings, for every great leader was once unformed, unready, uncertain. And remember always the eternal wisdom of Warren Bennis: leaders are not born, they are made. If you would lead, rise each day to the work of shaping yourself, until your character becomes the foundation upon which others may safely stand.