Leaders  are created by the demands are that are placed upon them.

Leadership can be defined as a process of social influence in which one person has the ability to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common goal. Are leaders born or are they created by  the demands placed upon them? I believe that circumstances and necessities do play a significant role in the emergence as a leader; however the role of innate and nurtured personalilty traits like intelligence, conscientiousness, openness to experience, integrity and  self confidence cannot be minimized.

Leaders have played an integral part in shaping our history. Abraham Lincoln is considered as one of the greatest presidents of United States. It would be premature to say that his leadership borne just  out of the circumstances like the wide spread prevalence of slavery in the southern states and the reluctance of the slave owners to set them free. Lincoln’s conviction that a country cannot exist half free, his high moral and ethical standards, his tactics and determination, his organizational skills, his oratory skills, all played a role in him emerging as an effective leader. The same can be said about leaders like Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi.  They were not simply created by the demands placed upon them - in Kings case, the need to break the shackles of racial discrimination, and in Gandhi’s time, the need for Indian independence from the British empire. Instead, their strong  resolve to gain true freedom for their people, their conscientiousness, their uncanny ability to convince people about the power of nonviolent resistance through their words and deeds, all formed inevitable components of their great leadership.

In summary I believe that leaders emerge when people with leadership traits – which can be inherent or nurtured traits – exist in an environment that demands them to rise to the occasion of guiding their followers to a common goal.