By Faiza Chowdhury
Discussing leadership skills and whether or not they can be learned begs an important question: if leadership skills can be taught, should they be taught at universities?
Leadership is a quality that encompasses a wide range of skills. An efficient leader is someone who is personable, insightful, confident and decisive. Today, leadership qualities are among the most desirable skills that employers look for in potential employees. Sadly, not everyone is a natural-born leader with a take-charge attitude – so it is definitely a great advantage that governance is a skill that, to some extent, can be learned.
Discussing leadership skills and whether or not they can be learned begs an important question: if leadership skills can be taught, should they be taught at universities? Or is it preferable to learn how to become a leader on the job? This age-old question has been debated upon for quite a while. Those who do not support the notion that leadership can be taught, cite experts who think that leadership is somewhat hereditary, and that biological traits can affect one’s ability to become an effective leader. Thus, the idea that it could be taught has been highly criticized in the past.
Nevertheless, recent years have seen an overwhelming increase in the teaching of leadership skills, mainly at the undergraduate level. This increase has been primarily due to a realization of the significance of qualities that make a leader and to add to the world’s current worrisome vacuum of able leaders in the fields of finance, economics, science, and politics. Universities at the forefront of education around the globe have acknowledged the fact that possessing qualities such as intellectual acuity, communicative skills, patience, confidence, and transparency are of paramount significance in the leadership game – and that polishing these skills will make it possible to transform seemingly ordinary students into the leaders of tomorrow. Many have already begun focusing large amounts of resources on leadership training and courses to help students unlock their leadership potential.
Preaching Power
The reasons why leadership must be taught at universities are numerous.
First and foremost, if leadership is taught from the bottom up, without discrimination of any form, it can be ensured that no student is deprived of the opportunity to become a potential leader. There is no possible way for teachers and employers to know with absolute certainty who will grow up to be a leader, or if someone requires that extra nudge of encouragement and guidance to become one in the future. So it is crucial that everyone is given an equal shot, to ensure that we don’t lose the next Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, or Margaret Thatcher from right under our noses. And for that to happen, universities must take up an active initiative to instill important qualities in students that will help them become better leaders of tomorrow.
Next, it is often argued that teaching leadership to every student could be considered a waste of time and resources because not everyone goes on to become a successful leader. While it is indeed true that not everyone becomes a pioneer in their respective careers, anyone could still benefit from leadership training, because it would drastically improve one’s own skills.
Teaching leadership skills at the university level would instill qualities in students that could prepare them for the real world, giving them a chance to be at the top of their field. Students who have received leadership training or taken courses that involve leadership skills are more likely to receive better jobs and higher salaries. Moreover, it could help them overcome their struggles with low self-esteem and allow them to believe in themselves, which is an important quality, leader or not.
The Drawbacks:
Although it is possible to teach students the basics of leadership, management educators and leadership coaches around the globe believe that more than knowledge, leaders require character – something that cannot be taught.
Other than that, it is only possible for teachers and mentors to guide students through leadership, and facilitate an environment where leadership can be learned – but ultimately, it is up to the student to put their use their newfound knowledge to proper use.
Some education experts argue that teaching leadership skills at undergraduate level takes students away from university education, which may prove to be disastrous for them. Others contend that resources should instead be utilized towards providing a better education before leadership courses are introduced.
Lastly, leadership is a subject that cannot be taught solely within the confines of a classroom. It requires years of prior training, personal experiences, and spontaneity – qualities that university courses cannot provide. Teaching leadership in this manner would be highly ineffective, and would certainly not give birth to prospective leaders.
The various drawbacks of teaching leadership skills at universities bring us to the topic of learning leadership skills on the job. Many people who have never had any form of prior leadership training are often forced to become leaders during the course of their career. Organizational leadership is constantly evolving, and therefore employers must be careful to only entrust important responsibilities to able leaders who can quickly adapt to change. Learning leadership on the job, although daunting, has several advantages, some of which have been explored below.
Employing the Emperor
The benefits of learning leadership on the job can be split into two categories – benefits to the employer and benefits to the employees.
An employee who learns how to become an effective leader during the course of his job is a vital asset to the workplace. He/she may become a role model for others, and to some extent, an inspiration, encouraging others to work better and maybe even improve their own skills. An employee who acts as a mentor to colleagues puts their best foot forward and remains headstrong in the face of adversity is someone who is likely to increase the company’s efficiency, thus leading it to gradual success.
Furthermore, some experts would say that developing leadership skills on the job is not only important, but critical, considering the fact that the skills required for each job differ vastly, and the duties of a leader are constantly changing, depending on the work they do. Developing these essential qualities in the workplace will not only allow employees to become more desirable candidates for job recruitment but will also help them adapt to changes easily and respond to challenges with level-headedness. Surveys have found that leadership programs which give employees the opportunity to lead their own projects themselves greatly improve employee engagement at work.
And if all that weren’t enough, experts seem to have found a strong correlation between having a leader who exercises a healthy amount of control, and happiness among co-workers in the workplace. It has been scientifically and mathematically proven time and time again that a visionary who is responsible for a small part of, or even the entire workplace, can be the potential key to success and happiness for everyone else who works there.
The Drawbacks:
The most obvious drawback is the fact that changes around the workplace due to employees developing leadership skills is a long and painstaking process – one that cannot be expected to occur overnight. To achieve such remarkable skills without sufficient time or effort would be nothing short of miraculous. Many people are often seen cracking under the pressure of having to be a “perfect leader,” and are eventually kicked to the sidelines at their place of work.
Additionally, learning leadership skills on the job can sometimes prove to be a difficult task to those who do not possess the same skillset as their peers. Leadership is most effectively learned with careful consideration of one’s strengths and weakness. For example, a person who is multilingual could have valuable communication skills but may need to work on their social skills to become more personable. Therefore, it is important to learn leadership skills specific to one’s own abilities. However, in most cases, it is seen that leadership training programs at workplaces fail to hone in on an individual’s skills, which not only causes programs of the sort to be an immense failure, but also lower’s the person’s self-esteem, convincing them that they are not, nor will they ever be, leadership material.
Finally, a leader with too much control and power in the workplace may become overconfident, biting off more than they can chew. This can have devastating consequences for the company, co-workers and for the individual themselves, leading to a communication gap between workers, high levels of bureaucracy and inefficiency.
In conclusion, the question of whether leadership should be taught at universities or learned on the job remains highly subjective. Although there are compelling arguments for either case, the answer ultimately depends on the individual, on the type of job they do, and even on the type of education they receive. What can be known for sure is that almost anyone can become a leader if only given the opportunity.
