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

[Ahbed Nadir]

I think a leader should inspire his followers but I also think that it's not a bad thing to guide either. A leader should have to guide his team. Otherwise how his team will know what goal to achieve and what pathway they have to use to reach the leader's level of excellence.

[Ahbed Nadir]

The best lessons i have learnt in life were simply from observation. It is easier for someone to grasp a concept they have seen in action rather than in words. Inspiration is also better because it is a decision one makes on his or her own based on various acts of greatness that inspired him to follow the leader.

[Amanda Dobson]

I agree with this. A good leader knows that they are there to support, help, and inspire those they are working with. They are there to encourage you to try your best and when you fail be there to lift you up, so that you are encouraged to problem solve and then succeed.

[divsharma54]

I disagree, it is a good thing for leaders to inspire their followers but in some cases there are some followers who don't know what to do in their upcoming future or in other words team members may be not aware about the problems how to solve such problems or how to tackle with such situation, so in such situation leader can help them by guiding them.

[Bhuvana Subramanyam]

I agree with the quote. The leader should inspire his/her followers and nurture them to find their unique ways to do things. If he/she forces them on an already laid path, I don't think he/she can become a great leader!

[Emmanuel Kolapo]

Taking Jesus as a case study to write that a leader need only to inspire sounds to be an incomplete writing to me.
Checking the Bible which talks so much about Jesus, we will be able to see that Jesus himself laid a good example for the disciples to follow. Taking a close look at the Epistles that are inside the Bible, it is clearly seen that they were written just as Jesus did explanation in Luke 24 that is, they took authority from the Old Testament and main purpose of doing it is to reveal Christ.

Apostle Paul ask the church of Corinth to be follower of him. Therefore, by taking Jesus as the case study, it will be an oversight if a leader is seen as someone that only inspire alone and not guide.

A strictly believe that a good leader will surely inspire and guide his/her follower. The main reason he/she is called a leader is due to the fact that they have a common goal they want to achieve. For the leader and follower to achieve a common goal then, it is the duty of the leader to give guide in order to achieve the goal.

Jesus did this and the Apostles did this.

[Zombiella Bee]

I think the definition of a "good leader" depends on what the needs of the followers are. If the followers are lost, in need of help, or are involved in blasphemy because of their ignorance, then guidance is crucial in this situation. If the leader can guide his or her followers through this, that would make them a good leader.

However, if the followers are already guided but have no will or cause to do what they need to do, then this is where the leader would step in for inspiration.

Having one set "right way" is impossible, since conditions and needs are constantly changing. A good leader would be defined as someone who knows what to do in whatever situation he or she is presented with.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

Various leaders have various personalities and various strategies that they use when they lead their followers. Some might be calm and quiet while others are of commanding and dictating nature. But that does not exclude any leadership qualities that they should posses to be a good leader.

When it comes to Jesus, whether he was a good leader, we cannot truly assess that from the bible as what we see today as the bible is quite difficult to believe as actual God's word when we see the political involvements and the corruptions that the church has been connected throughout the history.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

The role of a leader can be slightly different depending on who or what they are leading. But the common leadership qualities should be possessed by all leaders. I think all leaders should guide their followers. The ways that they use to guide them can be different, but the final goal should be to guide his followers. Otherwise how can a leader clearly convey his group his expectations and make them accomplish the given tasks accurately?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

"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.

I agree. After you clearly give the directions to your team, you can let them do the task without poking at each and every point, given that you have got a competent team. But if your team mates need close inspection and guidance, then there is no choice but to guide as they need. What can be changed is only the frequency and the timing of guiding, but it cannot be replaced by inspiration alone.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

A leader who is only a guide won't be able to keep up the morale of the team. Guiding will keep them on the correct path, but it won't keep them going on. For that they need some incentive. The best incentive that a leader can give his team is to inspire them, and that will keep them going, while guiding will make sure that they go along the correct path.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

Well, actually the book says that a leader should not guide his followers but only has to inspire them. So I will take as you are disagreeing with the book.

Yes, leadership comes with many other qualities other than the ability to guide and inspire. Followers look up to their leader and if the leader is wrong, they will follow those wrong things too, which will lead to nothing else but failure. So a leader should always be correct and set a good example for those who follow him.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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

I think in group work, the task in hand is the most important thing and it should come first. It is good if the team mates can develop their own personalities and their own paths, but that is secondary to what the leader expects from his group. If the leader is a really competent one, he will lead his followers in a way that each and everyone will get personal benefits in addition to completing the given tasks. But a leader as well as the team mates should not change their priorities if they are looking at success.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

I am not sure about one being directed in a specific path through inspiration only. That can be done if the path is clearly set and that person is clearly aware about the path and the tasks that has to be completed. But then a group will need someone in addition to the leader to give the directions to them, and then the leader can keep them going with only inspiration.

So, when it comes to practical scenarios, a leader has to guide as well as inspire his followers.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

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.

That is true. Guiding a team through a specific path towards a specific goal will allow the team to reach that goal in no time. But if the leader try to inspire the team, let them find their own paths, make their own plans and do the task, yes, there is a possibility for them to reach the goal, but it will take a lot of time and the time and energy will be wasted.

And there is a high chance for the inspiration without guidance can lead the team away from the goal and make it a complete waste.