This Will Get You Thinking........?

Question

Does a good leader totally lead, or lead by following others opinions?
If a leader acts without listening to others' opinions, that is not very considerate.... but if a leader listens to others' opinions and puts it into actions, is that really "leading"? Are we all leaders in a way, and the acknowledged leaders just put our thoughts into motion...? A leader should lead, but to lead, you also need to listen. Is this right?

Answer 1

Yes. Being a leader also means listening. A leader is a person who takes action. Having good ideas is not enough, putting those ideas into action makes a leader. I don't think a leader follows others opinions but takes them into consideration and uses the best operation to get the job done. Just because the idea came from someone else does not mean there following. When there's a leader involved there's usually a team and a good leader is a team player and would not just use the ideas they have but the groups as a collective effort to get the job done.

Answer 2

A good leader should lead by example. He should also take into account the opinions of those he leads. In the end, he or she, will weigh the pulse of the people against what is best for them all. Sometimes that follows what the popular opinion is, and sometimes it isn't. That's when a good leader makes the hard choices which is to do what is necessary for the group to survive, instead of going with what might be the common choice.

If he's wise, the leader will try to explain this to the followers in a way that they can understand, even if they don't agree.

I think we're all leaders and all followers. Sometimes we see the clearest of our little bands and we take charge of a situation. Sometimes, someone else has more vision & clarity, so they lead and we follow.

That's hard to explain, but I hope you get my point.

Answer 3

A good leader has the confidence to be willing to make a decision, when there is no group concensus. A skilled leader will listen to each person, publicly or privately to see how each person feels. In the absence of a majority, if a decision must be made at that point in time, a good leader having gotten a grasp of the issues involved makes a decision for the welfare of the group. Many people refuse to take action, because they are afraid of criticism. Many people are afraid to make a decision because they lack the confidence to take an action. Many people don't make a decision because they simply do know enough to decide at the time a decision needs to be rendered.

A good leader is neither arrogant nor overbearing. A good leader is persuasive, not intimidating. It is often the skill of weaving a compromise that leads to making a decision.

Answer 4

Sort of correct but not quite right.

A good leader listens to his/her people and then decides what is in the best interest of the whole collective group and then proposes several solutions to the problem at hand. Next the people dice and dissect those pieces up and make another offer at a solution to the leader. The leader then takes that into consideration before he/she makes a decision and takes action.
Notice I never said that the leader would do what the people wanted but that he/she listened.

The leader still has to act in the best interest of the group in order to remain leader or he/she will be replaced in a heartbeat.

If the leader makes the decision to listen to the people and do what they say and that decision proves unwise or wrong then the other people will get Amnesia and the leader is still left holding the bag of worms he/she has created and will be ridiculed for it. Not unlike President Bush right now. The majority of those senators voted to go to war and they had exactly the same information the President had. Now that things are not going so good they want to blame the President for all of it and not take any responsibility for their part in it which is wrong and cowardice.

It isn't always good to be King!!

Answer 5

This question sounds very familiar :)
A leader has to listens to others or else they would just be controlling, not leading. Good leaders listen to others and use good discernment to sort through all of the input and opinions. Good leaders also lead by example.

Answer 6

A leader needs to do both. After listening to opinions the leader must decide which one will benefit the group the most. By the way, leading has very diversa consequences, you can be a great leader and b remembered as a great one, or you can be great leader an die by your own sword.

Answer 7

A leader listens to different opinions and viewpoints... but ultimately, he's the one choosing and deciding what opinion or viewpoint we should follow, and which ones we should ignore.... that's the definition of authority.


Of course, as you say, all leaders are conditioned by the ideas of the society, place, culture and time period in which they exist. And not all leaders are the same, some rule in a more authoritarian way, imposing their will on others, while others listen to suggestions and allow their powers to be limited by the group.
All leaders, however, have more authority to make decisions than the rest of his group... that's why we call them leaders. Because they "lead" the way by making more decisions than the rest of us.

Answer 8

Two definitions of lead are becoming mixed here, and perhaps they are mixed in many people's minds.

1) Lead - direct
2) Lead - foremost, top

A good leader could be thought of as one who leads/directs others wisely.

Therefore, the leader is not necessarily the top or always right at all.

Instead, a good leader must constantly be listening, learning, and discerning information in order to lead his followers toward the correct goal, in the correct way, and in the correct time.

Answer 9

well a famous leader is napoleon, he used to make meetings present a problem and then ask each and everyone of the members to give a solution, from there he would make his desicion. Doesnt our goverment act the same way? there is a reason why the president can not make the total desicion because there is a saying " 2 heads think better than one"
therefore 10 heads think better than one, etc. To be a good leader is to accpet that you are not perfect, you are going to make mistakes and you do not know it all you do need advice but at the end you will make the choice and if you chose wrong you will apologize for your mistake.

Answer 10

You've got it. A good leader is the one who can listen and put together a game plan and motivate others to action. A good leader appreciates input, knowing that "2 heads are better than 1", and that other points of view are neccessary to get the whole picture.