I'm not sure if I have directly asked for your input to a post in the past, but here is one that I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on.
HERE IS THE QUESTION: Can you be a really great leader and a really great mentor/coach of leaders?
HERE IS A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Which one is stronger for you? Are you better at being a leader or better at being a developer of leaders?
I think about this issue quite a bit. Here is a provocative quote from Rob Gofee and Gareth Jones. Both are professors of organizational behavior at schools in England, both have experience as senior leaders and both are consultants. I say this to add some credibility to the statement below.
A whole cottage industry has grown up around the teaching that good leaders ought to be good coaches. But that thinking assumes that a single person can both inspire the troops and impart necessary skills. Of course it is possible that great leders may also be great coaches, but we see that only occasionally.
What do you think? Will we only occasionally see great leadership and great coaching combining together in one person? And what do you see in your own personal experience?
Brian Rice
