Experience and Education
I believe that experience and education can have a great impact when making a leader. When someone has extensive background and also has education to back that up people respect them and look up to them, this is one of the things that make a leader. When people listen to someone because they respect them or any other reason this automatically puts that person into the category of a leader and someone that they will be willing to listen and follow. Educational activities like group projects can help an individual develop leadership skills. I believe that one of the best things that can help a leader is to play a sport. I’ve played sports all my life and have had many friends that I consider great leaders and many of them had a background in sports. Having the experience and the knowledge can make a person a great leader on anything that they do. I would identify a leader as someone who has experience in my industry and is been through many things as opposed to someone who just came into the field and is trying to talk about a topic and people will follow the one with experience and education because it gives them credibility. Having the right personality to draw people to you is almost a must in any leader and can complement these traits perfectly.
Hughes, R.L. & Ginnett, R.C. & Curphy, G.J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.