Leaders: Born or Raised?

I often remind my Intro to Worship Ministry class of a deeply profound statement: half of the phrase “worship leader” is the word “leader.” They pay good money for such incredible insight.

Seriously, as worship leaders, we often don’t give attention to developing our leadership skills. Worship leaders are called to lead different types of people: musicians, technicians, laypeople, and staff. They are called upon to lead in different contexts from services to rehearsals to committee meetings. Even our students who may not see themselves as an upfront worship leader have to learn lead because the role of a worship leader is a job of multifaceted leadership: musical, spiritual, financial, and general leadership of people.

Last week, I was interviewed by Jason Squires for his podcast “The Table” for a soon-to-be-released episode on “Strengths and Weaknesses.” As part of the podcast, he asked me some great questions, including if leaders are born or raised. I think this is an excellent question, but perhaps the wrong one to be asking ourselves as leaders.

I do believe that some people are born leaders. Whether you are a high D on the DISC test, ENTJ on the Meyers-Briggs test, or a lion on the Gary Smalley Personality Types Inventory, personality tests show that some people have a natural disposition to lead. Even so, people who are natural leaders must learn to develop their leadership skills. Often, these natural leaders can be overbearing when it comes to leading people if they are not aware of how to lead well.

So, then, what about the people who aren’t predisposed to lead? Can they learn to be leaders?

For me, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Time after time, I have watched students grow in their leadership skills and abilities. One of my students shared this in their field experience report:

For a long time, I’ve lived with the unconscious understanding or assumption that some people are good leaders, while others are not. I believed that I fell under the “not” category. However, as I progressed through my field experience, I began to grow more comfortable with leading and realized that leadership is not an inherent trait that some have and others don’t. While I may naturally be more soft-spoken and reserved, that does not mean that I can’t lead. It simply means that I need to be intentional when I do, and the more I step out of my comfort zone and act assertive and confident as a leader, the more comfortable I will feel doing that.

So for me, the question is not: “Do I have it [leadership] or not?” The question should be “How do I grow as a leader?” Leaders can be born or raised.