The 'complete leader' is a myth
In a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, you'll find a piece, "In Praise of the Incomplete Leader," by Deborah Ancona, professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-authors Thomas W. Malone, Wanda J. Orlikowski, and Peter M. Senge, that attacks the myth of the complete leader, the idea that leaders must be able to do everything. This week's reading, "The 'Complete Leader" Is a Myth reports on a conversation Kathleen Melymuka, of ComputerWorld, had with Ancona. I think that you will find it very helpful.
The HRB article's comments focus around a distributed leadership model -- sensemaking, relating, visioning, and inventing -- which the four authors have developed over the last four years. [You can find more information about the model at http://mitleadership.mit.edu/r-dlm.php.] The thesis of the article and the conversation is that if you are not good at all the capabilities called for in the model you need to make sure you know your strengths and find people to work with you who will compliment your skills.