Shakespeare was good about leadership, as about most other things. The spoof letter which caused poor Malvolio to make such a fool of himself contains words that say a lot about the subject. "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them". Greatness and leadership are so closely akin that the words give us a useful point of departure.

"Born great" has two possible meanings: either being born to a great position, such as that of an hereditary monarch, or possessing natural talents and/or virtues of an exceptional kind. Clearly not everyone born to a great position is worthy of it, and relatively few have the qualities of a great leader. But the greatness of certain offices can rub off on their occupants, who may not otherwise have qualities out of the ordinary.

Some appear to have the gift of leadership, but are found to lack it when tested. Tacitus wrote of an early Roman emperor that he would have been thought capable of ruling if only ...more

No, they are born as great internally and explode themselves in proper time. Do you think Rahul gandhi will become a great man in future? Swami Vivekananda lived only 39 years & became a great man.
Rahul Gandhi is already 40 yrs old.

Yes
some innate traits
but more of worldly wisdom

Yes

I think there are 3 types of great people

- those who are born great like mother Teresa, Sachin ,Newton etc
- those who achieve greatness by paying price for their risk taking ability , misunderstanding and opposition from common people like Galileo , Picasso etc
- those who hire public relations officers to project them as great like our politicians :)

My vote goes for 2nd type because if you are not born great , it is not your fault but if you die miniature , it's solely your responsibility