The purpose of this paper is to examine accepted U.S. leadership theories and connect these age old theories to what the Army believes is needed in the 21st century Army leader. The paper will go beyond the question of whether a leader is born or made by suggesting that from America's research on the topic, there are key areas that can be affected to develop good leaders regardless of their innate leadership gifts. The end result of this paper is to strip away some of the mystique of leadership and find the practices at the root of how one influences others to achieve an objective. The paper will show that, after examination of several of the major theories, one can clearly see the Army is moving along with contemporary trends, while maintaining a legacy of commitment to past generational theories. Finally, the paper argues that role competency is the most practical approach for officer development, and that the role of most officers is that of a manager. To have great competency in one's primary role will subsequently make it possible to function as an effective leader.
