Natural Born Leaders

NATURAL BORN LEADERS

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Andrew Kay

In the wild we can observe the leader and follower concept in many different breeds of species. This natural born leader phenomenon can be seen in such group-living animals as primates, fish, birds, lions, and even wolves. Many papers and experiments have been conducted to prove or disprove the “nature vs. nurture” both in humans and animals. One such experiment was the fish study. This experiment took pairs of Stickelbacks which are well known for showing individual differences in boldness, such as when foraging (Nakayama, 2013). When the pairs of fish would move from safety to look for food the bolder fish took charge of the movement, while the more docile fish would follow. The experiment tried to force the fish to reverse their natural roles through training. The shy fish would be rewarded with food every time it initiated a movement whether or not the bolder fish followed (Nakayama, 2013). As for the bold fish it would be rewarded every time it follower the shy fish but not when it emerged from safety by itself (Nakayama, 2013). The prediction of the experiment was that the both fish would perform poorly when forced into the roles. However, the results were completely opposite of the prediction. For both of the fish the tendency to lead is much less flexible than the tendency to follow; the bold fish could be taught to follow but the shy fish could not be taught to lead even after it would stop following other fish (Nakayama, 2013). What was learnt from the experiment was that regardless of the fish personality they could learn to follow but not learn to lead.

I believe there is a natural born leader personality trait that some people are just born with. People like Winston Churchill or Franklin Roosevelt, those who exhibit these leadership traits early don’t become leaders by accident (Lowery, 2013). These natural born leaders have the drive and determination to be successful...