"A good leader should not guide his/her followers, but should inspire them". Do you agree?

[Vine Michael]

If a leader only guides his subordinates you would lackluster performances but if he inspires them there would be creativity. I still think guidance is important but it shouldn't take the place of inspiration.

[Anna Bookowski]

I completely disagree. The essence of leadership is to guide and blaze the trail for your followers to follow. Of course, inspire them by all means but remember, everyone is different and thus, need different rules.

Overall, I believe the best way is to guide and inspire them, and the best example is Christ himself. He's the King of inspiration, but He has also left us a guidance booklet, the bible.

I disagree. Bible was not a creation of Jesus, and he did not use it to guide people, but his own teachings. The old testament is older than Jesus. So definitely it is not his guidelines book.

But I agree with your thoughts on guiding and directing. The followers who need guidance should be guided without trying to inspire them. Such an attempt on inspiration will leave them stranded.

I'm also wondering if Jesus is an actual example of a leader, as I have the impression he had not much too say about his own destiny - basically he himself had to follow what his father had planned for him. A leader - person who leads - should in my opinion posess a set of particular skills and certain sort of personality - which I assume Jesus had; I'm more asking myself that if he could choose on his own, if this is what he would have chosen. Because he seemed to be modest, calm and quiet type - which sounds very opposite to what most of worldly leaders of today represent.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

Do you agree with this 'job description' of a leader? If a leader is guiding his/her followers, will it make he/she a 'not so good' leader?

I don't think so. They're different kinds of leaders. It's not the same to run a small company, that to be a minister/pastor/priest, that to be a mom. They're all leaders, but I don't think the mom can skip the part of literally guiding her kids. At least when they're young. I do agree that all of them should inspire at the same time as guide, and should be an example of what they want their followers to achieve.

[Jagiine]

"Jesus is not merely an itinerant preacher..."
(Chapter 2, Page 9)

But this author has given leadership a new meaning claiming that it is not the leader's job to show the path and guide his/her followers towards a specific goal, but to inspire them to find their own answers and be their own guidance.

Do you agree with this 'job description' of a leader? If a leader is guiding his/her followers, will it make he/she a 'not so good' leader?

Honestly, I think the author somewhat contradicts himself. Jesus may "invite" and "inspire," but that's alongside him giving a fair amount of direction. A person who only inspires and does not guide is a role-model at best, I think. Early on, the leader-follower relationship needs someone to set boundaries, clarify expectations, and show the ropes. Once the follower knows what he/she/they are doing, the dynamic may shift toward mostly inspiration. Even then, I believe that, no matter how independently followers work, people count on good leaders to be prepared to offer guidance when a major situation arises. If a leader refused to offer guidance when that's what his/her/their subordinates truly need, I'd probably consider that leader a coward at the very least.

[Jagiine]

I forgot to say this:
On the other hand, if a leader only guides, the followers will likely either come to fully depend on the leader from their stunted states or resent the leader.

[Kebble]

I agree with saying from the book that a good leaders should both inspire and guide their followers. However, outside inspiration and guidance, I believe that a good leader should influence their followers through his/her attributes and qualities. Leadership is all about doing things rightly.

[Ellylion]

I believe, it depends on a goal or a particular task. Everyone wants to work with a leader who can inspire, but it's not the main aspect of leadership, in my opinion. Sometimes the task is too big, and inspiration and inner growth of the executors are just secondary

[Caleb 044]

Yes I agree, a leader should be able to inspire his subjects towards the right direction. As people, we all love the spirit of free will and through inspiration, the subjects will not fell like they were forced to follow a specific path.

[Charlene Wooten]

I disagree. Many important leaders guided and inspired their followers. Many good leaders are asked for guidance often. Yes, inspiration is important. However, inspiration without direction is wasted energy.

[ROSEY-ANN]

I think a good leader should guide his followers as well as inspire them. A leader should give direction [guidance] as this can help followers achieve their dreams in a shorter period of time . Inspiring them will help them to persevere even when there are challenges.

[Ann Ogochukwu]

I think a good leader provides both inspiration and guidance (and guidance doesn't not equate to control). A leader also instructs. A mentor on the other hand, may provide only inspiration.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I feel a leader needs to do both. However, I think being able to inspire leads to a more productive team as they are likely to do more than is expected of them. Being able to inspire allows the team to look into paths that the leader might have missed and they are more motivated to reach the set goal.

A team will comprise of various people. Some of them can be more knowledgeable as well as more experienced than the leader. Such people can help the leader to make decisions and that will make the team work more efficient and more productive. I agree that the leader can inspire his team mates and bring this potential out from them.

But I think that the guidance part is what followers expect more from a leader. Whenever they are in indecision they will look up to their leader. In such situations the leader should be able to direct them rather than letting them to find their own ways and make their own decisions.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think a good leader is a combination of both. Yes, a leader needs to be able to inspire their followers, but it is just as necessary for them to be able to guide them. Guidance is a defining part of what a leader is.

Exactly my thoughts. Yes, a leader should be a combination of many qualities, but among them I think guidance is much important. Usually the team mates are aware of what they have to do and what their goal is. But if they are left to work on their own and reach the goal, in most occasions that won't happen because of lack of coordination. And that is where a leader comes in. It is the job of the leader to allocate the correct task to correct person in correct time and direct each and every team member towards the final goal to reach it quickly and effectively. And I think that part can be named as guidance.

[Mehwish Qaiser]

I disagree. I leader should also know what his/her followers need. You can be inspired to do things but feel lost along the way.
To me, it also depends on what kind of followers a leader has in order to know how to make them work together as a team. Some followers need guidance while others are self-sufficient enough.

I agree with you, it's one thing to inspire, but a great leader knows exactly what his people need and when he can fulfill those needs and give the people a better future only then is he someone worth remembering.

[Nicholus Schroeder]

I agree wholeheartedly that a good leader should inspire his or her followers instead of guiding them because this teaches them to be self-sufficient and to trust that they can achieve tasks without their leader being present to supervise.

This also helps ready followers to one day take the mantle upon themselves and to pass the baton of good leadership that they acquired from their leader on to newer generations of leaders.