THE MYTH OF THE BORN LEADER
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009A lot has been written about Ken Lewis, the Bank of America CEO, since he announced his decision to retire the week of September 28. Many of the commentaries on him were highly critical, including one included in the Sunday, October 3, New York Times business section by Joe Nocera entitled “Incompetent? No, Just Not a Leader.” Nocera contrasted Lewis, whom I succeeded as Chairman of the National Urban League Board of Trustees in 2002, and who was an exceptionally capable chairman, with his precedessor at the Bank of America, Hugh McColl, whom he described as “born to be a leader.” I disagree fundamentally with the “born leader” theory.
Every leader does some things very well, and other things less well. Whether he or she succeeds depends on two factors:
- How well do the capabilities required for a leadership position match the leader’s capabilities?
- How well did the leader either adapt or complement his or her capabilities in areas in which he or she was deficient?







