Leadership Theory and PracticeLeadership can be learned, all it takes is a willing student. For leadership to be taught, does it necessarily have to be taught? According to Capowski, leaders are made; it just takes effort and hard work. There are arguments that more leaders were formed by accident, circumstance, individual will or sheer determination, but did these leaders acquire their knowledge or skills through a cognitive approach or through any form of theoretical knowledge? Allio (2005) posits that the cognitive approach to leadership is a less results-oriented way of developing leaders. He believes that leadership schools only present historical accounts of leadership theory, new leadership methods, and the traits/virtues of leaders, but his argument is that these cognitive experiences do not exactly teach future leaders "how to direct ". As my brothers teased me in my early days, watching Mom make a pot of soup or reading cookbooks doesn't mean I know how to cook; the kitchen is practical. Allio (2005) states that these leadership programs and schools fail from the start because they are unable to truly describe the role of a leader. As noted in the February 2007 Harvard Business Review, no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else: "You can learn from the experiences of others, but you can't succeed when you try to be like them.” This means that authentic leadership is personal. This has much more to do with the aspiring leader than the teacher or role model. A leader is one who puts in effort and is determined to bring out the best in himself by acquiring the right leadership traits and applying them correctly. Effectiveness or otherwise of Lead...... middle of paper ...... and lives of other leaders, past and present. Other models such as simulation, on-the-job training, mentoring with outcome measurement, and trial and error methods. ReferencesAllio, RJ (2005) Leadership development: teaching versus learning, Management Decision, 43 (7/8), pp. 1071-1077. . [online] available at: https://brainmass.com/file/365598/Leadership_development_%5B1%5D.pdf. accessed 14 May 2014Northouse, PG (2013) Leadership: theory and practice 6th ed. London: Sage. Leadership theories and styles (2009); IAAP 2009 Administrative Professionals Week Event [Online] available at: http://www.etsu.edu/ahsc/documents/Leadership_Theories.pdf Accessed March 29, 2014 George, B. et al. (2007) Harvard Business Review: Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. pp 1-10 [online] available at: http://www.aawccnatl.org/assets/authentic%20leadership.pdf. Accessed May 14 2014