Why does Leadership Matter?

/ Ken Blanchard

Even in these hard times, some people still wonder whether or not leadership really matters. Jim Collins did a good job explaining why leadership matters.  He wrote the bestselling book From Good to Great.  In that book, Collins talks about how great leaders have two capabilities:  One is resolve, or determination to accomplish a goal, and the other is humility.  He describes how leaders with resolve and humility can build a good company into a great company.  But one of the best ways to appreciate the value of good leadership is when you see how fast a poor leader can take a good organization down. Collins says it takes a lot of people to move a good organization into greatness, but it can take very little time for just one lousy leader to send a great organization downhill.

Leadership is very important. Leaders have a major role in setting the vision to move toward the organization’s goals, and then creating a motivating environment for people so those goals can be reached. But boy, leaders who don’t know what they’re doing, or have big egos, can take a good company and drive it straight into the ground. So don’t kid yourself.  Leadership does matter.

5 thoughts on “Why does Leadership Matter?”

  1. Pingback: Leadership: Why it matters » Preben Ormen

  3. Hi,
    I think leadership is a skill which leaders need to be traind the same as other vital skills in our lives.If they force themselves to learn it so there would be no more mistakes.
    Sincerely yours,
    Afsane.Narimisa

  4. I completely agree with what you posted. I think that great leader can often go unnoticed but bad leaders stand out as bringing the organization down. This seems like a pessimistic view by the population, but it is true.

  5. Ken – In the last week I have seen 2 or 3 different people that I follow weigh in on the topic of leadership vs management. Your comment is timely, and I am wondering if the economy has created too many ‘managers’ out of ‘leaders’. I am thinking of some clients I work with that needed help building up the team around them and stepping away from the operational duties they assumed because of the cash crunch in the last downturn.

    What would you say to someone needing to assess which side they are operating on – leader or manager?

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