Manager: the best individual contributor?

Today i was facilitating a workshop on people management. We were discussing about "Who would a good manager be?". One of the points made by a colleague has stayed with me.

He said that a good manager is a "Captain" and not a "Boss". His observation struck a chord with me. I asked him to elaborate.

He added "a good Captain has the ability to figure out what to do in a situation to win", and he should be a "good player" himself.

The word "good" rung out. I asked him "Why did you choose the word good? Why not the best?".

He responded "he should be good enough to deserve his place in the team as an individual contributor. He need not be the best individual contributor".

I felt my eyes were opened up. I now have a possible answer to a question which has been on my mind for long. "What makes a captain like M.S. Dhoni or Steve Waugh so special?".

It is their exceptional skill at figuring out what to do in a situation to win. But at the same time they are good enough to deserve their place in the team on the basis of their individual merit.

I now also have a probable answer to another question which has been on my mind for sometime.

"Should a manager of individual contributors have his own individual Performance Indicators or should his Performance Indicators be a summation of the indicators of his reportees?"

He obviously needs to have his own performance indicators- he needs to deserve his place in the team on the basis of his individual performance, but he needn't be the best individual contributor in the team.

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Sourav