The perceived greatness of any political leader has more to do with the challenges faced by that leader than with any of his her inherent skills and abilities.

Leadership’s accepted greatness is a controversial issue for many people and has several definitions. A close examination of the issue reveals that a political leader’s image will be greater in minds if the leader has interacted with several challenges than if he/she has learned skills or has abilities.

When a political leadership has more experiences and has faced many problems he will become more mature and be more reliable in people’s minds. Also, he will be more accepted by them than just a person who has learned many skills or been educated in a university and may or may not have the knowledge or experience to deal with political issues. However, having skills and the ability to lead are essential for leaders to succeed. In managerial theories there is an aspect that claims that a great leader is whom who has the experience that helps him to act in a way that helps people to grow by his leadership and may act as a father to them. This kind of leader will perceive greatness by people’s heart. However, this theory indicates that a person with high skills and abilities can be a great manager but not necessarily a great leader. He will be a person that may reach the overall goals and has a good performance but may not be honored by subordinates.

Beyond the definitions there is another view that says that political leaders may learn from reading other great leader’s lives and experiences. So facing challenges by a leader itself may not do much with the greatness of the leader’s image by people. However, the truth is that without having enough diplomatic and political experience a leader may not be successful in leadership duties and may lose face by people. So having some experience himself is crucial.

While it may now be clear that having skills, abilities and facing challenges are all important elements for political leaders, having the experience of dealing with several challenges is more important on perceiving greatness.