Leadership is demonstrated - not measured

Since then, more and more companies have become obsessed with developing leaders and measuring leadership. Leadership boot camps, yearlong programs, even one-day workshops all strive to imbue leadership qualities and behaviours into people who may or may not possess leadership potential. This kind of training tends to drive a false sense of success in those people selected to be leaders. The candidates are, more often than not, chosen for political reasons rather than true potential or capability. This breeds resentment amongst those with talent that otherwise go unrecognised. The subsequent product of this leadership by numbers' approach usually ends with very mediocre leaders who fail to deliver. While it's easy to learn from a good leader, it's even easier to learn from a bad one. The process delivers bad leaders who invariably fail with rather easy and obvious lessons to learn, littering the organisation with failures.

My own experience tells me that you are either a leader or you're not. Good leaders are not made, but rather they are discovered through circumstances where a person stands up and holds him/herself accountable on behalf of others.

Leadership is often thrust upon those not quite ready for leadership, not out of choice or design, but usually because others perceive the presence of leadership qualities when those qualities are most needed.

Learned behaviour