Leaders are born, not made

Over a hundred years ago, the explorer Ernest Shackleton safely led his crew through a series of disasters in one of the world’s harshest environments. His achievement is often held up as a gold standard of leadership. But was he able to lead because of personality traits he was born with – or because of skills he acquired over time? In this opening episode, Professor Michael Wade takes a closer look at the nature vs nurture debate in leadership – and makes some surprising discoveries.

Credits:

Written and presented by Michael Wade.

Guests: George Kohlrieser, Alyson Meister.

Produced by Pete Naughton.

New episodes will appear every Thursday, from 18 March