Linking theory with practice: Students perceptions of leaders and leadership characteristics

The question that still cannot be clearly answered is whether “leaders are born” or “leaders are made”. Students who attend courses in Management and Leadership have already built their own opinions about what specific characteristics leaders should possess, and about whom they perceive as leaders. The role and effects of preconceived notions in business education is still unexplored area that occupies the attention of both practitioners and theorists. This exploratory empirical study was conducted on a sample of 182 students of the second year of the Centre for Professional Studies who are attending Management and Leadership courses. Given that Croatia is still relatively young independent country which has passed the privatization process during the war, it was interesting to find out which persons young people perceived as leaders. We used the questionnaire to identify student's preconceived notions of leadership. If we wish to develop successful leaders, we need for students to understand leadership skills in order to upgrade their existing abilities. Several explanations for the resulting patterns of responses are proposed and suggestions are made for further research.