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Effective leadership requires leaders with certain personal characteristics to lead organizations. According to Hogan el al, anywhere from 48% to 82% of the variance in leadership emergence rankings was due to personality (p. 498). People who have personalities that match the big-five personality characteristics of "surgency, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and intellect" (Hogan et al) are more successful as leaders than those who do not. These individuals have the will and desire to look for positions of influence, are able to work effectively with people, are intelligent enough to see and understand complex issues facing organizations, and have the emotional strength and stability to make the sacrifices necessary to be an effective leader and give a sense of stability and commitment to teams and organizations.

While many skills may be taught, these basic personality characteristics are likely gained during a lifetime of experience starting in the early years of an individual's development. These experiences are gained through experiences in the home, early education, team sports, early opportunities to lead groups, teams etc. By the time that an individual enters the work force, and is promoted to a management position, these basic personality traits are well engrained into the individual's psychological makeup. While the attributes of a great leader can be explained, and awareness can be expanded regarding these traits, it would be impossible to train someone or develop these qualities if their personality make-up is not already in favor of these qualities. As Hogan et al demonstrated in various studies training programs produced little behavioral change (p.499) in leaders lacking these qualities

In conclusion, most effective leaders are predisposed early in life to experiences that develop certain personality traits that predispose them to become effective leaders. Although much money is spent each year in leadership development, there is no evidence that you can create a leader from someone who does not have the predisposed personality.