The distinction between a manager and a leader is the most delicate, and the most important in any company. A good manager does not necessarily have the psychological profile to be a good leader. One needs to reinvent oneself to be a good leader. Hence the question: Can you learn to lead, or are you a born leader?

2. A SAGE
White Paper
www.sagepub.in
Are you a
born leader?
Are you a Tiger,
a Cat or a Dinosaur?
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3. reyouabornleader
ARE YOU A BORN LEADER?
Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis are certainly two of the greatest
scholars in business theory. Peter Drucker is credited with developing
the notion of “management,” a rational approach to the organization
of a company. Warren Bennis focused on the other great dimension of
business – leadership. I had the privilege of meeting them both.
Although they were both US citizens, they could not have been
more different. Peter Drucker, an immigrant from Eastern Europe,
had a lackluster complexion, wore dark, classic suits and mumbled
more than he spoke (a bit like Henry Kissinger). Warren Bennis, on
the other hand, was always tanned, had white hair and wore light-col-
ored suits (he was more like Giorgio Armani). Both were exception-
ally brilliant, and they revolutionized business thinking.
Thedistinctionbetweenamanagerandaleaderisthemostdelicate,
and the most important in any company. Managers concentrate on
doing things well while leaders focus on what must be done. Managers
ensure that the execution is perfect and that the operational results are
in line with shareholders’ expectations. Leaders imagine and antici-
pate new products, open new markets, find new business models and
motivate employees. In short, they thrive on a vision!
Both competencies are necessary and complementary. However,
Warren Bennis often emphasized that most companies fail at both
because they attach too much importance to management and not
enoughtoleadership.Inshort,theyare“over-managedandunder-led.”
A critical moment in the life of an executive is his transformation
from a manager into a leader.To become the leader of a company, one
must be a good manager first. However, once executives reach the top
job, their role changes and they have to reinvent themselves. The meta-
morphosis from caterpillar to butterfly is not a foregone conclusion
for everyone. It implies a different approach to one’s responsibilities.
A good manager does not necessarily have the psychological profile
Are you a Tiger,
a Cat or a Dinosaur?
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4. to be a good leader. Hence the question: Can you learn to lead, or are
you born a leader?
Many people would answer that a person is born a leader. Warren
Bennis thought the opposite. He believed that a successful executive
could learn leadership competencies, and become the one who creates
enthusiasm and shows where the company is heading – similar to a
captain taking the helm of a ship.
One of his most interesting ideas is that leadership is not solely a
body of competencies, but also the result of introspection. The poten-
tial leader must first develop his own charisma before he can expect
to lead others to new horizons. Above all, he must “inhabit” his role
of leader, like an actor, he “inhabits” his stage role. This capacity to
embody an enterprise, similar to a politician who personifies a nation,
is at the heart of the success of every leader.
Of course, leadership evolves with time. Today, no leader can sim-
ply give orders and expect everybody to follow him blindly. As society
has become more egalitarian and open, new generations expect more
transparency from their leaders and a certain sensitivity to their value
systems. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are still many
“19th
century” style leaders around who try to impose their views on
the 21st
century … and they are surprised that it does not work …
Are you a Tiger,
a Cat or a Dinosaur?
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5. About the
Author
Stephane Garelli is a world authority in World Competitiveness, having pioneered this new field of
economics. He is Emeritus Professor of World Competitiveness both at IMD business school and the
University of Lausanne and the founder of the World Competitiveness Center. A former managing
director of the World Economic Forum and the Davos Annual Meetings, he was also chairman of the
board of the FF Sandoz Financial and Banking Holding and a member of the Constitutional Assembly of
his local state in Switzerland. He is currently chairman of the board of the Swiss newspaper Le Temps and
a member of the International Olympic Commission on Sustainability and Legacy. He is the author of
numerous publications on competitiveness and global business. He is well known for his series of World
Competitiveness Yearbooks that highlight and rank the competitiveness of nations. He published his
bestselling book Top Class Competitors: How Nations, Firms, and Individuals Succeed in the New World
of Competitiveness with Wiley.
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