very nice post indeed.
what about the do-it-by-example leader. i have seen a lot of those and quite successful ones too. They take everyone along and in case they cannot then they jump into the fray and pull it out. in manufacturing i have seen huge success stories because of them. they are natural leaders and workers too (and a rare breed)
Thanks for the comment.
I definitely there is a place for leaders that lead by example. These often come in the form of player-coaches where the manager is still doing the role in some capacity. I think the method helps build a sense of trust and shared effort. My only counter is that not all situations allow a player-coach model, or it is more effective for the manager to take a 100% force-multiplier role instead of some player-coach percentage split.