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

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I agree with this statement. 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. It is easier to follow through when someone tells themselves to.

I agree. It is easy to just follow without coming up with one's own ideas or guiding a whole team. Being an ordinary member of a team is quite easy if you are humble enough to just obey what the leader says. But everyone is not like that and that is why some are poor in team work. For such fellows inspiration will be a good approach. If they are just shown how to do the work, then they will carry on as no one is there to damage their self-pride.

[FEislandqueen13]

This brings to mind a quote I heard before - "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
Both are helpful,but one is long lasting. I don't think that leaders who guide are wrong. It's just that people will be reliant on them. I'd rather a leader who shows me the path.

[MoonFire379]

I believe that among other things, a leader should absolutely inspire their followers; however, I also believe that a learner should be a role model, and someone to provide guidance to those who need it; not just their followers.

[Amina Yusuf]

I believe a good leader should guide as well as inspire his followers. They are both important qualities. Through the course of history, leaders have been shown to lead by example through their actions, which serves as a guide for their followers. If a leader is cruel, his followers will consider that right and they will in turn take inspiration from that. Same thing applies to a leader who is good.

[Terkula Azakere]

One of the best ways a leader can inspire his followers is by living an exemplary life style that is devoid of hypocrisy and deceit. His words should be as good as his actions. Such a leader should also learn to love unconditionally and without any ulterior motive.

[Terkula Azakere]

One of the best ways a leader can inspire his followers is by living an exemplary life style that is devoid of hypocrisy and deceit. His words should be as good as his actions. Such a leader should also learn to love unconditionally and without any ulterior motive.

[Ahbed Nadir]

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.

Yes, Jesus is the perfect example to use in this situation. Through the example of his virtue and his spirituality he was able to inspire 12 men to leave their lives behind and follow him, forever changing their lives. If not for his inspiration they would have all remained mediocre individuals in their own respective towns. So I feel a leader should inspire his followers

[Sushan Ekanayake]

A good leader should be able to lead and inspire, they should be able to take care of the needs of the people they lead regardless of how different they are. Lead by example.

A good quote, "Lead by example". A leader should always set example to his team mates. Otherwise, if the leader is not living according to his own words, he will be merely a boss who just orders around and won't be liked or accepted by anybody. So, yes , a leader has to inspire his team mates and that can be done by being an example.

[Ahbed Nadir]

This brings to mind a quote I heard before - "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
Both are helpful,but one is long lasting. I don't think that leaders who guide are wrong. It's just that people will be reliant on them. I'd rather a leader who shows me the path.

An excellent saying. One has to be realistic about this sort of thing. A leader will not be around forever and as such he must also teach his followers to lead themselves or else they will be left stranded when he departs.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I feel a good leader should both inspire and guide his followers. Following the religious tone of the book, Jesus inspired His disciples to simply abandon their previous lives and follow Him all over the earth, preaching and more. However at one point He told them to go forth in the world and practice what they had seen Him doing and to return when they had completed their tasks. This is evidence of Jesus trying to teach His disciples what to do when He was not around as He wanted them to be self reliant or sufficient enough to b able to teach and preach to people on their own.

[Ahbed Nadir]

A good leader should not only inspire but also guide his followers. Jesus guided people through the words he shared with them. I think what a leader should not do is to force his will on his followers.

Yes, I agree with you. It's hard to separate the two. You must inspire to guide and you must guide tom inspire. A leader needs to be aware of the great responsibility on his shoulders and as such guide his followers to a right way of doing things.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I would say yes that leaders should inspire others. I recently read a series of books where the is one of the ways that they look for in leaders. In away they want someone to give them hope that they will win or to have faith in the defenders to keep them save. These types of leaders will lead the way, there are other leaders but they are more to guiding and look to inspiring leader.

A leader should be able to make his team mates have faith in him. For that he should make timely and direct decisions, and have to defend his team mates as well as his decisions whenever necessary. Such a leader will be seen as a strong leader in the eyes of his followers and that will be a good inspiration for them to follow and accept him.

[JB3]

I think that a leader needs to both inspire and guide. Oth of them will only take you so far so it is important to blend the two so that you can achieve your goals.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I agree because a good leader will make their followers to be able to stand on their own. Nothing is forever, so the best preparation you can give as a leader is to teach the follower to be able to continue on even when the leader is not present.

I see your point. A leader may not be always there for his followers. Nothing is certain and that is common even to a leader. So it is unfair for the followers if the leader made them as dependant personalities. It is good if a leader can help character improvement of his followers while leading them.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I partially agree. I think a leader should inspire his followers...i also think that it's not a bad thing to guide either.

I won't say that guiding is a bad thing. 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. On the other hand, if a leader just inspires his team, how can he be sure that they are going along the correct path and ultimately will accomplish the expected goal.