Boss vs Leader
It is said that most industries are made up of 80% bosses, but only 20% are leaders. This may be why so many industries struggle for they are perceived as non-professional and lose so many good people.
A boss, a manager and a leader title may not matter in your organization, but the style you use to lead does matter. I am keeping it brief here. I have been called all 3 titles at some point in my career, but let’s focus on boss vs leader. A boss tends to be someone who has a command-and-control philosophy. They lay out the expectations, do not seek input, and just want results. Bosses tend to motivate employees with fear. A boss mindset is not well suited for most multi-generational work environments.
Leaders, on the other hand, are seeking to understand their people, setting them up for success by framing their work to fit their motivational mindset. Leaders are looking to inspire their employees. Leaders are looking ahead, defining a vision that others can see and want to be a part of. A leader’s mindset is that we do this together and they are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
You are judged in large part by how you get others to get the job done. At some point in your career when you started leading others, you realized your world changed. You needed to start thinking of others. You needed to be looking ahead. You may have even realized it was a skill to motivate your people and you worked to develop that skill. But, if you are still operating like a boss, you might want to rethink your process.
The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says I; The leader says we. The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says, “GO”; the leader says, “Let’s GO”!
-Henry Gordan Selfridge, American Retail Magnate
It’s important to be the leader. It’s more important that you be a better leader today than you were yesterday.
Thank you for your leadership,
Jeff
