Abstract

Do we need more leaders or managers? Should a leader or a manager run the company? Who ismore critical–manager or leader–for the success of a business? Enigmatic questions wrappedin a riddle inside a conundrum. May be the word leader itself ismystical and occult and thereforecannot be grasped easily. Well, I think it is more mundane than all the hypes that surround it.Strangely, only at the top of a company we expect someone as leader otherwise we are satisfiedwith the so called managers atall other levels. Are leadership qualities required only at the top?Looking at the slew of publications on management particularly since 90’s one easily gets the impression that it has been, overwhelmingly, in favour of“Leadership”. Contrastingly therearevery few books, on how to become a good manager. Today, it seems we are engrossed with theidea that being a leader is the best way forward to create and lead an agile organisation. Wedifferentiate: a manager strives for stability and a leader instilschange and instigates renewal.The mania for Leadership has overshadowed the fact that managing a business requiresleadership at all management levels in an organisation, perhaps the difference is that at lowerlevels there is a need for transaction leadership where as at higher levels and specifically at the top it requires more transformational leadership.

Authors and Affiliations