Are you a leader? Or a boss? Do you know the difference between the leader and the boss? In this article, you will be able to differentiate between the two and distinguish if you are a leader or you are acting as a boss.
Leader, the role of the leader is to lead the people. They develop their people and teach good values, how to be a good employee, support them in their work, help whenever the employee is having difficulty. Also, a leader serves as a friend and guides the team to be successful.
So, what is the boss? The boss is the one who takes control over his employees. Who demands all his needs met right away.
6 Distinctions between Leaders and Bosses:
1. The leader addresses “we” but the boss addresses “I.”
2. The leader teaches but the bosses criticize.
3. The leader serves for a purpose towards success but the boss manages to an end.
4. The leader says “Let’s go” but the boss says “Go.”
5. The leader enables but the boss disables.
6. The leader shows humility, while the boss shows pride.
As the famous quotes says; “The leader leads and the boss drives.” Theodore Roosevelt
The leader does everything to teach team members or employees to become better in their work, event to become a better leader someday. They inspire and motive their people to work hard in order to reach their goal.
What can you do to make sure you’re acting more like a leader and less like a boss? v
Excellent perspective. I have never held the title Manager, never been a boss, have never even had the word ‘leader’ in a title matching my responsibilities. In fact, I’ve never aspired to be any of those thingsc but I have often been called a servant leader. That works perfectly for me, because what I capitalize on is my ability to help others so they have more of their own capacity to lead. 80% of my job is making my managers and team members look good so they can lead without bossing.
Thank you for this article. I think that when a person lacks leadership skills they are more likely to fall into “boss” behavior.
Thank you for your post. I’d add one more.
Leaders develop their replacement, bosses protect their jobs.
Terry
Thanks for the great post Kristina and thanks to Terry, Linda and Jane for the great comments. I like the addition that leaders develop their replacements. So often I see people who aren’t grooming people to take their place. To me that’s the most rewarding work. Mike…
Thank you every one for appreciating my post. Thank you Jane and Linda. I agree also with your comments.
All good points/comments. used a similar comparison in my career over the years… Instead of ‘Boss’ I use ‘Managers’ and my philosophy is that Leaders Inspire… Managers Require. Inspire them to achieve the desired outcome as opposed to asserting power and demands. Also, to that point… I also use the words command vs demand. Similar mindset… Leaders command respect while Managers demand it.