Leaders are made, not born. Sure, some people are born with greater aptitude in certain areas inherent to leadership, but not all of these people grow up to become leaders. Likewise, many people who are not born with inherent skills identified with leadership work hard to develop these skills and grow into great leaders. What if - like the Six Million Dollar Man of 1970's television - we could build our leaders with "bionic parts"? What attributes would you give the ideal leader?

1. The Bionic Leader
karmamacchiato.com

2. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Made, Not Born
52%
Born, Not Made
19%
Equally Born & Made
29%
Source of Leadership
Center for Creative Leadership Study, Published March 2012
www.ccl.org

3. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
One of the myths that I am trying to bust...
is that you are born with this capacity to be great.
Not true.
It is a matter of, yes, skill. There is a lot of luck.
But there is also persistence, discipline, passion, and courage
to pursue that which is most important to you and to the
people around you.
Stewart Friedman
Founding Director of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
Author of Leading the Life You Want

4. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Effective leaders are made,
not born.
They learn from trial and error,
and from experience.
Colin L. Powell
U.S. Army General (Retired)
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Former Secretary of State

5. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Leaders are made,
they are not born.
They are made by hard effort,
which is the price which all of us
must pay to achieve any goal
that is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi
NFL Hall of Fame Player and Head Coach

6. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
What if we could?What bionic parts would you give her?
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first bionic leader.
Better than before. Better...stronger...faster.

7. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must know how to
Hire great people.
Great leaders aren’t larger-than-life superheroes who
do it all themselves. They excel at building great
teams and driving superior results.
As Jim Collins explained in his best-selling book
Good to Great, there is empirical evidence that
proves that good-to-great leaders focused first on
“who”, rather than “what”.

8. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must be able to
Give clear direction.
A great team of talented people will get you where
you want to go—
but only after you’ve told them where that is!
Stephen R. Covey identified this as one of the 7
Habits of Highly Effective People:
“start with the end in mind”.

9. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must know how to
Coach & train.
Leaders love working with people, while managers
love working with things. This is why great leaders
are also great teachers. They are inspired by lifting
others up and making others better.
It is no wonder why so many people who we
consider to be great leaders come from the military
and sports coaching ranks—two professions that have
institutionalized a culture of training.

10. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must be adept at
Clearing obstacles.
They empower others to act on the leader’s vision.
General George S. Patton once said, “Don’t tell
people how to do things, tell them what to do and
let them surprise you with their results.”
Instead of micromanaging their performance, leaders
add value to their teams by tackling issues head-on
that distract their people and inhibit their execution.

11. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must
Hold people accountable.
Management guru W. Edwards Deming famously said,
“You can expect what you inspect.”
And one of the tenets of the Six Sigma process used
by so many companies around the world is that in
order to improve something you must be able to
measure it. Great leaders establish metrics that
measure the right behaviors and outcomes, and then
monitor them regularly.

12. k a r m a m a c c h i a t o . c o m
Great leaders must be
Generous at giving praise.
Leaders are judged by the performance of their team,
not by their own personal accomplishments.
Great leaders take pride in the accomplishments of
their team members and aren’t threatened by their
success. When things go wrong, great leaders ask
themselves, “What could I have done differently or
better to ensure the success of my team?”

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