Can competency lead to leadership?

LEADERSHIP - its a wast . ... core competencies required at a certain level and restricted to a particular attribute of a person ... leadership needs all  attributes to handle the all resources

Competency alone is not enough to make a good leader. It is essential that the head and heart of the person is well balanced. You have to practice and be a good learner to be a good leader. A leader is one who leads people from behind....

Rebecca

Competence is not the sole ingredient to leadership. looking at examples of Mahatma gandhi and Obama.....they had coupled their ability to influence along with other skills, attitude and knowledge......

I guess leaders are born not made

Not surprised that the NO section have more support with a much detailed explanations. For me also it is a BIG BIG NO. Leadership skills wont come from all the competant persons.

Competence is a wide term used for being good at a particular thing. In this discussed case being competent at your job does not necessarily qaulify you as being a good leader. A good leader would be a) one who is able to keep people together not so much when the going is good but when the going is tough. b) He would be a person able to empathise rather than sympathise. c) A person able to take responsibilty for his actions irrespective of the outcome being right or wrong. d) A person who could be approached at any time on any issue not only for advise or solutions but just to lend a ear or shoulder. I am of the view that all people are competent in someway or another but they are leaders because they show other people what they are capable off and and guide them to being competent in that.      

Absolutely competency alone can't contribute to leadership, a non competent person with strong motto & vision, having team management skills, motivating skills will definitely be a good leader.      

can competency lead to leadership.. A big bad NNOO

a competent woman can transform a "mouse"  into a " LORD OF THE HOUSE" ...& VICE - verses..

Subject competency alone cannot lead to leadership. You need leadership competency in taking leadership roles. Competency in Leadership may include subject knowledge, but it may not be the first and foremost requisite. More required leadership qualities are: Vision, Confidence in oneself and in the team, Communication abilities to motivate the team, getting the team to trust in the leader, and advocacy for a better performance. There can be many more indicators. But in essence, Leadership is different from subject competency. Secondly, Competency is contextual. I may feel competent in one context and not in another.

A person who is competent need not be or become a leader and viceversa. While a leader requires competence in some areas, a competent person does not necessarily require leadership quality. two have different characteristics accoording to me.

skillful COPYING TENDENCY = SUCCESS

Dear Ravindra,

Good question! But, I don't think you would like to read between the lines only. What I find, you are referring only to the title of the question. The question is not complete without the body of the text that conveys the central idea and the real sense what the questioner is asking for reply.

If you try to re-read the very first paragraph, you would find your answer, yourself. The paragraph states:

"Competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role. For instance, management competency includes the traits of systems thinking and emotional intelligence, and skills in influence and negotiation."

You will find that the member has referred to the competency to do a specific role like that of management and not that of a leader. Had she pointed out towards the leadership competence, and skills of a person, she would not have found the need to raise such a question, as her own question, itself, would have become the answer to her question. Here in the supporting text, the questioner has mentioned the word, "WELL QUALIFIED." I hope you would like to agree with me that for leadership, no qualification is prescribed, while for any of the executive jobs some specific qualifications are always prescribed.

Hope, you would like to agree with my contention.

I agree with you Mr. Dhingra. A person with a vision is a leader because this will endow him with a subtle capacity to team up naturally, with people around him/her. Ideas will be received by a leader to fortify the original one,  to be more more acceptable so that each team member feels the belongingness, because of his/her contribution to the ultimate vision.

Competency is reuired in the long run, because an established leader will have to contribute towards progress & achievement as much as each of the team member, more so because the insights of an effective leader will be a thing of marvel to the team, as those are instrumental to bring growth at individual level too.   In brief, a leader is one who guarantees personal growth within team achievement. Otherwise, who will remain motivated, just because the leader happens to be charismatic?

Consider these three personalities :

1.Tendulkar is a competent cricketer, perhaps the most competent but could not prove himself a successful captain.

2.Ganguli was a successful captain but could carry on as his competency as a cricketer took a down swing.

3.Ponting is considered to be the most successful captain as he lead the team by example as a cricketer.

So competence, without an iota of doubt , is a prerequisite for being a leader but not the only criteria. Its true that only competent person can become a leader but not every competent person can become a leader.

Dear Chirag,

Two different posts made by you within a gap of 5 minutes are quite contrary to each other. While, one says "yes" for the competence leads to leader, and the other "no." Would you please like to clarify, about the difference in both of your views?

I do not agree with your views. Person might have competecy but he might not be willing to  take leadership. As someone says that Leadership is born skills and it does not matter wheather you have competency or not. Very important thing is leaders must have followers.

people will choose you and their interest not your competency.

Alone competence can't make a person a leader. A person should have the spark/skills to lead & guide others. He should be able to take the initiative and make others follow him. If a leader is lacking competence there are others  in his team to help him out but he should have the courage to face new challenges and hold his team together.

Although Competence adds value to the workings of a person, a leader should always strive to be more competent than his team mates. This helps in motivating his team mates & makes them to follow him.

Competency alone is not enough for leadership although it is a prerequisite for the role of leadership.  For, an incompetent person can't lead a group of competent people at any cost. Competency over a period of time results in broadening of view point. It also makes a person realise that team work is always cost effective and efficient to individual super human effort because the later is not sustainable and consistent.   If a competent person has to be a leader, then he/she has to lead a team (of productive people and productivity comes from competency).  Therefore, one should be competent enough to command respect which mostly takes care of team dynamics.

I think the argument is itself ambiguous ; since it says "Can competence lead to leadership ?" , yes , it can. If the question had been phrased as "Will competence lead to leadership ?" , then the answer would be "maybe".

A person becomes a leader when he / she acquires followers ; the leadership is good if it enables the group ( the leader and the led ) to overcome obstacles and forge ahead to the chosen goal.

In all this , the first ability required of a leader is the ability to adapt to changing situations and convince the team to also adapt. Consider a team going to the Pole , or a team that is attempting to climb Mt. Everest ; inspite of all the planning in advance , weather conditions can create problems ; illness can be a factor ; what is needed is the correct reponse to these changed circumstances.

Competence alone may or may not be sufficient in such cases.

Consider India's struggle for freedom ; there were several competent people , all engaged in the struggle. All of them bowed to Gandhi as their leader.

In a lighter vein consider Bal Thackeray ; all of us will acknowledge he is a leader ; but what is his competence ?

No, it is not necessary that a competent person can be a leader. A person should have the skills of a leader for being a leader. Competency adds up to the qualities of a good leader,and shows that the leader walks his talk.

There are many competent people who don't have the required skills of a leader,should we consider them as leaders?; obviously not. So, it is not entirely true that competency leads to leadership.