NFL legend Vince Lombardi once famously suggested that leaders aren’t born. They are made.
The new co-directors of the Paul H. O’Neill Center for Leadership in Public Service, Karen Gahl-Mills and Matthew Baggetta, tend to agree.
In the latest episode of O’Neill Speaks, the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Gahl-Mills and Baggetta envision leadership as empowering others, and that empowerment is a trait developed over time.
“When you look back at literature over time, people have talked about the ‘Great Man Theory’ of leadership,” Gahl-Mills said. “It must be somebody who got a lightning bolt hit from the gods, and that makes them a leader, right? Well, no. I think that when we think about leadership the way we talk about it—as empowering others—those are definitely skills that can be learned.”
Baggetta added that learning how to be a leader isn’t about a single path.
“Leadership is a craft, a skill,” Baggetta said. “It's a thing that you have to practice. If you want to learn a musical instrument, you might have the right size hands to play a guitar in a particular way. But if your hands are a different size, you can just play the guitar a different way, and with the right coaching, the right teaching, the right opportunity to practice, and enough practice, you can become a good guitar player.
“The same thing is true for leadership. You might be a naturally more gregarious person or a more empathetic person or any sort of personality trait out there. But we can combine those things in lots of different ways, and with the right practice and coaching and experience, you can turn those baseline traits into a good, solid, effective leadership practice.”
The new co-directors also hope those who don’t have a lot of leadership experience will get involved with the O’Neill Leadership Center.
“I would encourage people who don’t think they’re leaders to seek us out,” Baggetta said. “If you’re saying to yourself, ‘Leaders are people who stand up and give speeches. Leaders are people who are willing to be out there in front and do those kinds of things.’ There’s a role for that in any organization, any program, any campaign, but those are just pieces of (leadership). Leadership is a collective endeavor that requires lots of different people working together in meaningful ways… even if they are not the individual who stands out there and gives a speech.”
O’Neill Speaks is available on any podcatcher app.