I often find that many people onfuse leadership with positional power. We tend to believe that a person in a position of authority or someone with a title, has their position or title due to their leadership qualities. However, in many cases there is no correlation between someone’s position and their leadership ability. Just having a title does not make you a leader, leaderships is about influence. Title only buys you time to exercise true leadership, and in this time your leadership either increases or diminishes and eventually fails. There is a huge difference between being a boss and being a leader…! Consider the following…
“The boss drives group members; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’
The boss assigns the task, the leader sets the pace.
The boss says, ‘Get there on time’; the leader gets there ahead of time.
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss makes work a drudgery; the leader makes it a game.
The boss says, ‘Go’; the leader says, ‘Let’s go.’“
– Author unknown
People follow the boss because they have to if they want to keep their jobs. People follow leaders because of who they are and were they are going. Too many leaders today rely on their position to lead. How about you?
Technorati Tags: Leadership, Authority, Management, Business, Leader, Boss, Power
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I am absolutely a leader.
What a great post!!! I have printed this to remind me to aspire to be a Leader one day – and not a boss. Thanks George
Thanks Cassandra.
Really enjoyed this post. Thanks!
This is a terrific article. I have owned several companies and being a leader will take you to the next level. Being a boss will lead to constant hiring. Some small business owners have not figured this one out, leading them to a constant revolving door. Thank you for sharing this article with the Linkedin group.
A boss will suppress the job 1st and the people last.
A leader will put God 1st then the people and job last.
The CEO of the company I work for, just posted a blog as a comment for this Blog post.. worth reading
http://www.elilopian.com/2010/02/26/being-a-leader-is-overrated/
Also, a boss will be preoccupied by someone that starts acting like him due to fear of losing his position; a leader will be enthusiastic by other emulating him.
I like those quotes a lot, and totally agree with leadership does not go automatically with a title.
Those that want to be good leaders care about people, and know they are there to build people up. They also know they must continue to work on themselves first.
It is not up to ask whether are leaders; naturally that most people would like to see themselves – ourselves – in the best possible way, and being a leader is better than being just a boss, but true leaders shouldn’t be egocentric and do that. I mean that we become more of a boss when we start seeing ourselves as leaders by our own definition and not those of others. Is something like being a talented artist: It is not up to him or her to decide that and much less to go around telling the world, even if it is true. As Nietzsche once said “The true master never takes anything too seriously, not even himself.”
I agree 100%. I wrote a similar themed post, albeit much more cynical, regarding management style.
Management and Leader has become interchangeable, but they really are two different things. A leader can be anyone in the organization… but it’s often best if the managers are leaders and not bosses.
You’re so right on the point you make “Title only buys you time to exercise true leadership”.
I remember when I was first assigned to a position of leadership, I was not quite ready to exercise it. It took some time, knocks and bruises before I developed enough leadership qualities to lead without relying on rank.
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