DiscoverNudgeAre leaders born or are they made?
Are leaders born or are they made?

Are leaders born or are they made?

Update: 2025-11-03
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Are inspiring leaders born or are they made? 


That’s what Adam Galinsky, the Columbia Business School professor, has spent the past two decades studying inspiring leaders. 


On today’s episode of Nudge, he shares his groundbreaking research into inspiration, reciprocity, repetition and visionary statements that reshaped how I saw leadership. 


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Read Adam’s book: https://amzn.to/4htZCGc⁠


Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list


Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/


Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/


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Today’s sources: 


Begg, I. (1972). Recall of meaningful phrases. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(4), 431–439.


Cabinet Office & Behavioural Insights Team. (2013, May 28). Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving. Behavioural Insights Team. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-behavioural-insights-to-charitable-giving


Carton, A. M., Murphy, C., & Clark, J. R. (2014). A (blurry) vision of the future: How leader rhetoric about ultimate goals influences performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1544–1570.


Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. William Morrow & Company.


Liu, J., Hong, X., Zheng, Z., & Zhong, J. (2023). When consumers have difficulty understanding ads: How technical language lowers purchase intention. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(6), 1550–1563.

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Are leaders born or are they made?

Are leaders born or are they made?

Phill Agnew