NATURAL LEADERSHIP: CHARACTERISTICS, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, EXAMPLES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The natural leadership is a leadership style that arises spontaneously in those groups or teams that do not have an established dominant figure. When a situation of this type appears, some people end up assuming the position of leader without intending to, due to their personality traits, habits and ways of acting.

The study of natural leaders has been a topic of great interest within the field of psychology for a long time. In general, any advice on how to increase leadership skills is based on mimicking the traits of people who possess this ability innately.

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Typically, for a person to be able to demonstrate natural leadership, they need to possess a number of personality characteristics in addition to having extensive experience in the subject their team is working on. The other members of the group follow you spontaneously, even if you do not have an explicit authority over them.

In this article we will see what are the characteristics of a person capable of developing natural leadership. In addition, we will also study what are the advantages and disadvantages of this way of leading a team, as well as some examples that will help clarify the concept.

Characteristics of natural leadership

People with natural leadership abilities present a mixture of innate and learned characteristics that make it easy for them to become the leaders of any group in which they find themselves spontaneously.

By definition, someone who is not born with this ability cannot become a natural leader. However, even individuals who possess all the innate characteristics necessary to develop this skill may not reach their full potential if they do not perfect those that must be learned.

-Innate characteristics

Certain traits of natural leaders are innate; that is to say, they are part of the personality of these individuals from birth. Next we will see which are the most important.

Extroversion

Extroversion is a characteristic shared by all those who seek social stimuli and who feel charged with energy when they are in the presence of other individuals. Typically, this makes them more open, and their social skills better than introverts.

Some of the characteristics of extroversion that correlate with natural leadership ability are loquacity, and the ability to be perceived as more attractive that often accompanies this personality trait.

Resilience

Leaders often have to face criticism, name calling, and all kinds of negative behavior from other people. For this reason, a natural leader has to be innately capable of recovering well from these situations and moving forward with their ideas despite them.

Resilience is defined as the ability of a person to recover easily after being exposed to an adverse situation. Like extroversion, it is one of the fundamental requirements to be able to demonstrate natural leadership.

Trust

People with low self-esteem try not to expose themselves to the criticism of others and to avoid all kinds of problems. Therefore, leading a team requires a good level of self-confidence. Natural leaders have this characteristic innately.

Emotional intelligence

A person capable of developing natural leadership has to be able to understand both his own emotions and the feelings of others. Also, you must be able to make others feel understood, so they need to possess skills such as empathy.

Although emotional intelligence can be developed with effort, most natural leaders possess this characteristic from childhood. Thanks to her, they get others to follow them without even having to ask.

High energy levels

The last of the innate traits of people with natural leadership abilities is the presence of higher than average energy levels.

To properly lead a team and lead it to a specific goal, a leader needs to be able to continue acting when everyone else has thrown in the towel.

-Features learned

The five traits we have just seen have been part of the personality of natural leaders from their earliest childhood. However, in order to fully develop this ability, these individuals have to acquire certain capabilities that only experience can provide.

So, although it is possible to see someone very young naturally rising to a leadership position, usually the best natural leaders are mature people who have been developing their skills for some time.

Next we will see the learned characteristics most related to this trait.

Communication skills

When natural leaders are young they may not fully understand the value of good communication. However, as they mature, they realize that people are more willing to follow those individuals who are able to communicate with them clearly.

Strategic thinking

In their youth, many natural leaders are very good at motivating the people around them, but then they fail to find a way to act that is really effective in achieving their goals.

However, over the years many of these people learn to moderate their natural tendency to action with a certain capacity for reflection. This way, when you finally start moving your team, your components are better prepared to reach your goals quickly.

Decision-making ability

A good natural leader has to be able to observe his environment analytically when the opportunity presents itself; But on the occasions when you don't have enough time to do it, you should be able to choose a suitable course of action even when you are under a lot of pressure.

This ability does not normally arise naturally, but is acquired over the years with experience and after facing a multitude of similar situations. Therefore, it is usually present more in mature leaders than in those still very young.

Ability to motivate others

Finally, natural leaders must acquire over the years the ability to make other people feel like carrying out the tasks that he proposes to them. This ability is essential for the proper functioning of a team, as well as to achieve the proposed goals.

Advantage

Natural leadership has a number of characteristics that make it very beneficial in some circumstances. In certain situations, such a leader can improve the results of a team while increasing the well-being of the workers.

One of the main advantages of this leadership style is that it is not based on an externally imposed hierarchy. On the contrary, by arising naturally, team members will perceive their leader as someone closer. Usually this will make them more open to your suggestions and hold you in higher esteem.

On the other hand, natural leaders are usually much more capable than those who follow other management models of motivating their subordinates and making them feel happy with their tasks. Because of this, having one of these people can greatly improve the work environment.

Disadvantages

However, not all characteristics of natural leaders have to be positive, nor do they have to be the most suitable for all kinds of situations. Sometimes it may be more beneficial to have a leader who follows a different model.

Sometimes, for example, the fact that a person knows how to lead a team does not imply that he is also an expert in the task that he has to carry out. When this occurs, the natural leader can waste her work group's time, or even push it away from its goals.

Another of the most common disadvantages of people with natural leadership abilities is that they tend to be very Machiavellian; that is to say, they usually have no problem using other individuals to achieve their own goals.

Real examples of natural leadership

Throughout history, many figures have emerged capable of leading a team or a group of people innately, without having to consciously study the best way to do it. Some of the best known are the following:

- Mahatma Gandhi.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

- John F. Kennedy.

- Margaret Thatcher.

- Bill Gates.

- George Washington.

- Abraham Lincoln.

They all shared many of the traits we mentioned earlier; and as a consequence, they were able to achieve great things and move huge numbers of people. However, we can also find many examples of natural leadership in our day-to-day lives.

Although people who do not have this trait innately cannot develop it, having as a model someone who does have this trait can be very beneficial.

Therefore, if you want to learn to lead groups, one of the most useful actions you can do is to find people in your environment who have this ability.

References

1. "What are the characteristics of a natural leader?" in: Total Team Building. Retrieved on: November 30, 2018 from Total Team Building: totalteambuilding.com.
2. "12 Characteristics of a Natural Leader" at: Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Retrieved on: November 30, 2018 from Minneapolis College of Art and Design: mcadsustainabledesign.com.
3. "6 Qualities Of Every Natural Born Leader" in: Forbes. Retrieved on: November 30, 2018 from Forbes: forbes.com.
4. "Characteristics of a Natural Leader" in: Succesful Solutions. Retrieved on: November 30, 2018 from Succesful Solutions: succesful-solutions.com.
5. "7 Habits of natural leaders" in: Huffington Post. Retrieved on: November 30, 2018 from Huffington Post: huffpost.com.