'Good leaders are more important for business success than good managers.' Discuss the extent to which you agree with this view.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Possible answers might include:
2. • Leaders and managers perform different functions within any business.
3. • A leader is someone who can inspire/drive a group of people towards a target or goal.
4. • A manager controls and directs activity within a business and will devise and implement the means of achieving the overall objectives set by the leader.
5. Leaders tend to be:
6. • Charismatic and can be persuasive when trying to get people to follow them and believe in their ideas.
7. • Self-confident – believing that they can solve any problems and do not get too distracted by irrelevancies
8. • Creative can devise new methods/ideas that can set the business apart from its rivals.
9. • Intelligent - can understand complex situations and determine the best way forward in the most difficult situations. They need the intelligence to recognise and reject unsuitable ideas or solutions.
10. Managers must be able to:
11. • Plan, control, co-ordinate, control, command, monitor. Without this level of control the ideas of the leader might fail regardless of how good the idea was.
12. • Effective leaders are essential to drive a business forward, but good managers will implement the ideas of the leaders on a day-to-day basis. If the idea is not well implemented, then nothing is gained.
13. However:
14. • However, not all leaders are good! Some leaders refuse to listen to the advice of those around them and might try to drive the business in a wrong direction.
15. • In such cases even the best managers might not be able to rescue the business.
16. • Even the best leaders need good managers to help them achieve their objectives.
17. • Candidates could equally argue strongly for either leaders or managers, rather than a more balanced approach.