Leaders are not necessary. This might come as a surprise, but it is true. A good manager need not be a good leader – in some circumstances.
You would see this most often in large, bureaucratic organisations. Management is about efficiency and effectiveness. Leaderhip is about inspiration and vision. Leaders deal with people. Managers deal with processes.
Which is why, to be a good leader, you need to have a good level of people handling skills. There are some dominant leaders who simply bull-doze their way through the team. In a crisis situation, that might work. But it can only be sustained for a short while. Imagine yourself under the tyranny of your supervisor, day in and day out; would you stand for it?
To be a good leader, you need to understand your people. But to be a great leader, you need to not only understand them, but to know how to bring out the best in them. Before you can inspire and motivate, you need to understand. However, if you stop at merely understanding them, but not knowing how to bring them to the next level, then you are a hapless leader.
Arguably, people competence is a pre-requisite for good leaders. But there are leaders who are in leadership positions because of their extreme technical capabilities, or their financial savvy or any other reasons. Without people competency, those leaders will not last very long. Or rather, their teams will not last very long.
Just a note about management. Managers are authority figures. They must be obeyed. They are in their positions through seniority, loyalty to the company or a zillion other reasons good and bad. Leaders, on the other hand, are people whom the group chooses to follow. They may have no organisational authority, but they inspire the group with their vision and passion. Sometimes, when natural leaders emerge, managers feel threatened, especially if its their group that is involved.
A good manager knows how to use and control the natural leaders. The weak managers simply get nasty. Leaders beware.
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