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

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I do not agree. I believe a good leader would be able to do both. They will have a good balance of being inspirational and guidance. Sometimes you need guidance after you are inspired.

Very correct. There can be team mates who are well inspired and very much enthusiastic, but do not have a clue of the task in hand. If such fellows are just left with inspiration but no guidance, then the result will be nothing but failure. So it is of utmost importance for a leader to guide his team.

[_amri_chauhan]

I totally agree with it.Even the gives us just the light we are here with all our will to find our own path... These is what the leader is doing here giving us the light so that we can get to our own new path.The journey is ours we are the one.

[bless-to-a-blessing]

I don't agree.I Believe good leaders should do all three instruct teach and guide there followers in so doing he would challenge them in making the right decision for themselves.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think it's definitely fair to say that leaders should inspire their followers. However, even Jesus himself offered guidance to his followers through the words of his parables. I think that good leaders need aspects of both in order to be successful.

I agree, good leaders should both inspire and guide their followers. However, I believe inspiration is better than guidance. Inspiration opens your eyes to new possibilities, new perspectives, essentially guiding in itself because the act of inspiring someone makes them want to do or create something. Guiding is having a direct influence on a course of action, and is that not what inspiration does? Hope this makes sense.

It does make sense and I do agree with you on this.
To be inspired is to be free, to chose on one's own. But if we are lost, guidance is also needed na. And of course it has a direct influence on whatever we do next, but that is because we don't know what else to be doing (could be because we're lacking inspiration).

Lack of inspiration cannot be helped with guidance, and vice versa. Though these two go hand in hand, they are not the same thing but two different things.

Yes, it is up to the person to choose whether to be inspired to or not. And that applies to being guided or not as well. So it is up to the leader to set the mind of his followers to be ready to be inspired and to be guided. That is what is called as 'leadership'.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I agree a good leader should inspire. They should lead by example, they inspire by taking part on the task involved. Indeed I agree with you.

A leader can set an example of he himself and that will definitely inspire his followers, I agree. But having said that (or done that) he cannot be idle and let the team to do their own tasks, unless he has no intention to accomplish the given task. For that he has to guide his team. So in that sense, I do not agree with what the author says regarding leadership, that he only has to inspire them but not to lead.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe it should be a little bit of both. A good leader must be someone who people look at and feel inspired or motivated to emulate. A good leader must be an ideal to aspire to, a level of excellence that causes followers to be lifted up and desire to achieve that same level. However, if the leader fails to guide his followers in the path he or she has taken to achieve his level of greatness, often or not, the followers can be lead astray. A leader needs to both guide and inspire.

I cannot think of same as you think as a leader, who is either a supreme being or a excellent and a perfect human. He is an ordinary human who is raised to the position of a leader because of the outstanding qualities that he shows as a candidate who is suitable for a leader. Still he might have many weaknesses. It is the skill of a leader to make use of his weaknesses into strengths, get the support of his team mates where he is not competent enough, but lead and guide his team with confidence.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe a leader should simply inspire their followers rather than guide/push them into the direction they believe is 'right'. It is better to teach and inspire one, so when push comes to shove, the follower is able to survive. Guiding the followers will eventually result in them becoming dependent rather than independent.

It is better if a leader can make a team which is comprised of fellows who can individually complete a task or stand in a situation without depending on someone else. But that does not mean that the leader does not have to guide them. In certain occasions the leader can let them work on their own, but depending on the situation the leader should guide or command or dictate them as suitable. That is what is called leadership.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Leader, the name suggest a person who leads. If a leader can take the group forward being together then that's good. Jesus was a leader who knew what is right for all. But leaders don't have to maintain hierarchy, there are some who work on same level, like a captain.

Leaders do not have to maintain a hierarchy. Maintaining a hierarchy is a task of a boss when maintaining a company. But it does not mean that the leader should not keep his authority and make others remember who is the leader. Though that does not mean that the leader should be a dictator, he should be confident and straight in making decisions and when he has to take the responsibility of his decisions, there too he has to be brave and face such situations. That will be a great inspiration to the whole team.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I disagree. Yes, a leader should inspire, but they do need to guide their followers. Inspiration isn't going to get a group to accomplish anything if they're all over the place. A leader needs to step up and guide the followers to achieve what they've been inspired to achieve.

You have exactly spoken my mind out. I too think so. A group can be inspired, but if there is no one to keep them together and take them along in a common path, how can a group consistent of people who are having various thoughts and attitudes can go towards a common goal. Inspiration can be even achieved by one's self without a leader. But a leader is necessary to guide a group towards a common goal.

[Kavita Shah]

A true leader inspires, encourages and at times becomes hope in times of despair. It's my opinion a true leader isn't afraid to lead, he/she is selected by the group to lead them on the correct path. Jesus walked the path of truth with his followers alongside, they were not forced to believe what he said but to see for themselves. A leader works hard and leads the group. And also teaches them the way to do the things. Their task is to reach the goal and see that everyone comes along.

Definitely. A group's achievements cannot be taken as complete if all the group members could not make it to the end. People will give up what they do for various reasons, and lack of inspiration will be one reason for that. So a good leader's task is to inspire his team mates at least from time to time while leading and guiding them to ensure that all the team mates are held together.

Yes. The followers may leave the team for any reason, but a leader shall help keep the group intact and inspired. She/He may try to resolve the problems, find solutions and never force his will onto them. A true leader always looks after everyone and keeps in mind the groups strength and weakness when making any plan to reach the goal. She/He is responsible for the group's well-being. Any good leadership will create a strong team.

[Nidhi2411]

According to me a great leader should always guide us and inspire us too.If a leader inspires we may get inspired by him but again we are humans and dont tend to get only inspired but also guided.If the leader inspires as well as supports and guides us in our work we will always be able to see his leadership in mental as well as physical ways.
So a great leader should not only inspire but also guide us.

[MBerretta]

I think the word "guide" is a very broad term. You can most certainly instruct your followers on the path they lead but you can do that with strict rules and regulations or you can be gentler in the approach. Actions can speak louder than words, however, we have seen how effective words are especially in the realm of politics. We can have a person be crude, rude, and vulgar effectively "leading" people and unfortunately inspire them as well. If you are a leader, you should be mindful of what exactly you inspire in your followers.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe a truly good leader will do both. Lead the way but also inspire their followers. Just inspiring may not be enough if there is no path to follow.

Quite true. You cannot just show your team the goal, then say 'come on' and wait for them to accomplish it. You have to set them the path specifically and then you have to guide them along that. Guiding do not necessarily have to be 'taking one's hand and making him go along', but to be watchful of them and correct their path when they go away from it.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe a good leader lives out the principles they expect to see in their followers, as in the example of Christ. Inspiration is critical as it allows people to discover strengths and talents they never knew they had. However, the leader should also be available to guide in case guidance is needed, as Christ did with His followers.

Of course. A leader should make his principles obvious and then he can expect them to be seen in his followers. A leader should live up to his principles and that example will be the best guidance for his team. But he should identify when and where to specifically guide his team mates and then he has to say them what to do, though at such times he cannot show it by action. He cannot always inspire his team but he has to guide them whenever it is necessary.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

A good leader should do both. He should inspire his team to bring out the best in every member and also guide them in the activities. He should lead by example, be a mentor and role model for his team members.

A leader should be a person who can play multiple roles. He should be a guide, an inspirer, a mentor, a helper, a brother or even sometimes a parent. Such a leader will get the full compliance as well as the support of the team members. Out of these, as per my belief, the role of a guide is of utmost importance.