If you’re like most people, you’ve worked for a variety of business owners and managers throughout your lifetime. Some of them likely stand out in your mind as individuals you enjoyed working for, while others created an unpleasant work environment.
It’s also likely that you have a clear preference for the type of person you would prefer to work for. The same holds true for your team members.
There is a vast difference between being a leader and being a boss.
- A LEADER influences, collaborates, guides, inspires, mentors and supports others to foster movement in a desired direction.
- Conversely, BOSSES exerts control over others, often in a domineering and demeaning manner, utilizing fear and intimidation to extract more effort from those they oversee.
- LEADERS are service-oriented and see themselves as part of the team. With this mindset, there is no need for blame, only a collaborative effort toward a shared mission.
- BOSSES, on the other hand, tend to be self-centered and power-hungry. They believe they are special, standing above everyone else, and because there is no team concept, they resort to playing the blame game.
- LEADERS give credit where it’s due and readily accept responsibility as part of the team. They work with their people for solutions and inspire others through their positive example of personal accountability and teamwork.
- BOSSES love to take all the credit for things that go well and none of the accountability for things that don’t. They believe that to maintain their authority and control, they can never be at fault.
- LEADERS recognize that when a person receives quality instruction and training, understanding and efficiency are created. They know that sharing their time and knowledge helps their people become more competent and, therefore, confident.
- Conversely, BOSSES prefer to tell others how to do things, rather than get involved and demonstrate the process. They are more interested in power and control versus teaching others how and why something should be done.
- LEADERS rely on the intelligence of their team members, understanding that no one person knows it all. They seek out and welcome the ideas of their teammates, knowing this will only contribute to the team’s overall success.
- BOSSES, however, believe they know it all and are the only ones with the correct answers. They do not welcome the knowledge of their people, leaving employees uninspired and disheartened.
- LEADERS create goodwill and enthusiasm, generating an environment where their teammates want to give their best. They understand that they don’t have control over others and therefore endeavor to help their people gain more self-control and make better decisions, thereby becoming leaders, too.
- BOSSES rely on authority and fear to make individuals do more and more for as little as possible. They believe that when their people are intimidated and afraid, they are in control.
- LEADERS willingly assist in the empowerment of their team members and the entire company, leading everyone to increased happiness and success. Rather than simply bossing people around, leaders assist others in becoming their best.
- BOSSES tend to disempower and demoralize individuals, making them and their company less than what they could be.
- LEADERS view their team members as human beings with their own hopes, dreams and desires. They coach their people in pursuing their goals and assist them in becoming more than they once were.
- BOSSES see people as objects in their pursuit of success, riches and power. They drive their people and use them up along the way.
- Through their commitment to communication and mentoring, LEADERS foster the best in others, treating them as valuable human beings capable of achieving great things.
- Conversely, BOSSES, through their lack of appreciation and dictatorial management style, lay the foundation for distrust, resentment, disloyalty, high turnover, absenteeism, lowered productivity and underperformance of the business.
The largest difference between these two management styles is that a LEADER works to empower their team members and inspire them to personal and professional greatness, while a boss disempowers their people for control over them.
The best leaders believe in and value human beings, working diligently to help their team members become leaders in their own right. Bosses do not.
