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

Use this forum to discuss the May 2021 Book of the month, "Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through" by Jeff Meyer.
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Mwatu
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Re: "A good leader should not guide his/her followers, but should inspire them". Do you agree?

Post by Mwatu »

Sushan wrote: 14 May 2021, 00:16
Mwatu wrote: 03 May 2021, 03:35 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.
I do agree that in times of indecision, guidance is more important. Assertiveness and quick decision-making would be hard to come by when everyone is making their own decisions. Perhaps every leader needs to both inspire and guide, and tap into either as required.
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Nupur Roy
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Post by Nupur Roy »

I don't think any good leaders exist. Humans are innately flawed and yes their flaws can inspire us but to say that a leader who has power and a mass of people following him/her/them hands "should" inspire us would only lead to grave disappointment.
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Post by wendylyn geonzon »

First of all, Leadership refers to the quality of leading people. Probably, it is one of the most important aspects of life. Above all, Leadership has led to the progress of human civilization. Without good Leadership, no organization or group can succeed. Furthermore, not everyone has this quality. This is because effective Leadership requires certain important characteristics. A good leader must certainly inspire others. A leader must be a role model for his followers. Furthermore, he must motivate them whenever possible. Also, in difficult situations, a leader must not lose hope. How can a leader inspire people if he himself is hopeless?
Honesty is another notable quality of a leader. Honesty and Integrity are important to earn the love of followers. Above all, honesty is essential to win the trust of the people. Probably, every Leadership which loses trust is bound to fail. People will not work with full effort due to an immoral leader.
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Katherine Smith
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Post by Katherine Smith »

I agree with that sentiment because good leaders do not tell their followers what to do, they inspire them to make things better for themselves and those around them. The best example I can come up with is charitable organizations that help those in need by giving them food, housing and job skills so that they can better themselves. This applies from the boss of a small business to the President of the United States. The leader can tell people what to do or inspire them to make a change, but the person is the ultimate decision maker.
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Post by ROSEY-ANN »

Bertha Jackson wrote: 01 May 2021, 22:56 Good leadership is a combination of guidance and inspiration. You have to show the way and set the example for them to follow.
Certainly, giving guidance allows people to know the path they should take making good use of their time. Inspiration though intangible provided motivation for staying the course even when there are obstacles.
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Raluca_Mihaila wrote: 03 May 2021, 09:35 I do not think that a leader's job is set in stone. A good leader must know to adjust his behavior according to his followers' situation. Sometimes he must lead them, and sometimes he must be their inspiration. These 2 attitudes don't contradict each other because they go hand in hand.
Well said. Yes, a leader should know when and how to adopt. The conditions won't be the same always, and that is same for the team too. But the goal won't change. So it is the job of the leader to make his team to achieve the goal. For that, he should know when to guide and when to inspire the team mates.

When followers look up to the leader, then he should take correct decisions and guide them. When team mates are lack of inspiration, then it is up to the leader to identify it and inspire them.
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Post by Yvonne Monique »

I think that a good leader needs to have both qualities. He needs to be able to inspire, but in practical ways, he needs to lead and help people with their daily struggles.
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Post by Hogwarts03 »

I think it's also basically true that a leader should know what his/her followers need. Whether it's guidance, inspiration or both, a leader should be prepared to provide it to make sure the followers reach the provided goal. It honestly differs with each.
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Post by Bernard Udofia »

Sushan wrote: 01 May 2021, 00:10 "Even looking at our expert leader, Jesus, whose Word is life, we can see this lesson lived out. Jesus is not merely an itinerant preacher who directs our steps. He is a soul-stirrer who invites us to walk with Him. If our master, Jesus, leads us by walking with us and stirring us to discover, then these earthly leaders must learn to come alongside and help others discover their own best answers."
(Chapter 2, Page 9)

Most often we compare how a boss will treat his subordinates and how a leader will treat his followers. Upto now I had the idea that a leader should guide his/her followers. 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?
Well, I don't think I agree. Not in this context anyway. And also Jesus was the wrongest example to cite for asserting inspiration over guidance. Jesus did a lot of guiding in the Bible. He literally worked with his people, and discipled them in ministry. Most of this disciples learned by watching him do. And when he ascended, he basically left with an injunction that his followers SHOULD DO WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN HIM DO. I will agree that people's circumstances are different, so what a leader can do is provide not just inspiration, but guidance in form of principles, and more. The people he leads can then make decisions for their unique situations but all based on the cornerstone principles of the leader. If ALL a leader does is inspire by talking, such a person isn't a leader; he's a motivational speaker. That's what I think anyway.
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Post by That Reviewer »

Well, as an open-minded person, I like to look at an argument from the angle of the facts that back them up. Guiding and inspiring isn't an either/or concept. A leader should do both. As much as I see the author's point in this, I really don't agree that the place of guidance should be discarded. It will be like throwing away the baby with the bath water.
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Post by ElizaBeth Adams »

As many people have indicated, I believe a good leader both inspires and guides. The motivation to continue comes from the inspiration. Without guidance on the how to, some people are lost. However, if you try to guide without inspiring, you may run into people who don't want to hear it. Our hearts are more open to instruction when we are inspired and when we feel that the person giving the guidance cares about us.
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Post by Misael Carlos »

No. Among the tasks of a leader is to guide his followers. Whatever he does for his followers will eventually inspire them to emulate him and represent him through their collective actions and behavior.
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Post by Utibe Amos »

The best way to guide or lead people is to inspire them by showing good examples.
As a leader, you are not expected to lead by mere words alone but by actions. People get inspired when they see positive results. For instance, a financial motivational speaker that is rich will surely have more audience than the one who is broke. People tends to follow a leader that inspires them positively rather than one guides them without inspiring them positively.
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Post by Md Tahminul Islam »

A good leader should not only provide guidance to his/her followers, but also inspire them, and act as a mentor, helper and coach at the same time. A good leader should also create leaders from among his/her followers, who can be ready to take the responsibility in the future or in absence of him/her.
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Post by Emidio Inocencio »

S P wrote: 01 May 2021, 04:43 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 go along with you. And more, the essence of the leader is to guide and help people achieve a goal. After all, the inspiration may arise from the way he way the leader leads...
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