Leaders are Born

Leadership is in the blood, says Mr Lee

TOKYO: Leaders are born, not made, said former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

He made the point yesterday in reply to a question from the moderator during a dialogue session about how the next generation of leaders can be nurtured.

Mr Lee said that within any country, there is only a limited number of people who have 'that extra energy and the charisma' to rally the people and persuade them to follow them.

'If you have a group that already has these qualities, then you can help them quickly become leaders by passing on the techniques of leadership,' Mr Lee said.

However, he added: 'If you are not with those qualities, you will not be able to be a leader.'

He told the audience a personal story about the training of a sheep dog to illustrate his point.

On a visit to a sheep farm in Australia, Mr Lee saw a man using a dog to control the movement of about 300 to 400 sheep up a mountain slope.

By the sound of the man's whistle, the dog knew exactly where to move the sheep. So Mr Lee asked the man how he trained the dog.

'He says, well, you must get a dog that is born with those qualities. It must have strong eyes that will look into the sheep and dominate the sheep,' he recalled.


With thanks to Straits Times 27 May 2011