“A boss, bosses. A leader leads.”
You can be a leader or boss but you cannot be both. The twain never meets.
Trying to be a leader and a boss is like trying to mix water with oil. It just doesn’t work.
Yet many are trying to do just that when it comes to leadership.
They are trying to lead using the title … BOSS.
Have you ever been around a work environment where a worker refers to his or her “leader” as “boss?”
It sounds something like this: “Hey, boss …” or “yes boss …” or “coming boss …”
The very thought sounds so condescending in nature.
FEELINGS MATTER
No one likes to feel “less than,” yet those who “lead” with a boss-mentality do so, and some may not even be aware that they are doing that very thing.
If you ask them, they’ll deny that they are trying to let people feel that way. Yet it happens.
I know not all who take delight in being called “boss” treat people in a condescending way but there are many who do.
Do you know anyone like that? I have seen and met some who are that way.
I remember many years ago while living and working in Jamaica, I had some leaders who treated me as if I was “less than” in the way they spoke to me.
But the system was such that it seemed like the norm. We came to accept it. Many of them wanted us to “kiss-up” to them and treat them like they were a little god.
What that did was create a dependent and fear-based relationship and maybe that is what they wanted. It was hard to feel like you could make a decision independently of them.
QUICKEST WAY TO STIFLE GROWTH
Being creative or innovative was something I restrained myself from doing just in case something went wrong. I didn’t want the “boss” to “chew me out” before my co-workers, which was how things were done for the most part.
This is one of the quickest ways to stifle growth, wouldn’t you say?
This is not what true leaders do. I call these leaders Emotelligent leaders.
In my book: The Emotelligent Leader – Succeed Where Others Failed and become the leader everyone loves and wants to follow, I outline how leaders ought to reprimand their workers …privately.
It is imperative that people are praised publicly and reprimanded privately. This protects the dignity of people. Bosses do not care too much about that. They want to stoke fear in the heart of their “minions.”
Leaders on the other hand display qualities that invite those that they are leading to WANT to do all they can to help that leader succeed.
Some of these qualities can be found in this article I wrote entitled: People don’t follow leaders, they follow what they see in leaders.
WHAT TRUE LEADERS DO
A leader’s job is not to boss people around. It is to pull people higher, make leaders of them, and allow them to release their creativity into the workplace.
This they do by inviting them around the table to get their contribution by asking HOW questions…
… How can we? How do we? How would you? How would they? etc.
These are just a few of the HOW questions leaders use to tap into the genius of their people.
But he or she must believe that their people have it within them. Those who don’t believe, we call bosses.
BECOME AN EMOTELLIGENT LEADER
The type of leader who sees his or her role is raising up other leaders are the ones I give the title: Emotelligent Leader – a leader who is better skilled at job performance, relationship management, and decision making.
To know more about this kind of leader, get a copy of my book of the same name, The Emotelligent Leader – Succeed Where Others Failed and become the leader everyone loves and wants to follow or schedule me to speak at your next leadership event or training.
In this book, I’ve laid out how to become this leader others WANT TO FOLLOW simply because they choose the path of leadership rather than “boss-ship.”
Whatever you do, reject the idea of being a boss and embrace with all your fiber that of being a leader.
If being more, doing more, and having more is something that you want to know more about, connect with me at www.kingsleygrant.com/connect.
In this book, I’ve laid out how to become this leader others WANT TO FOLLOW simply because of what they SEE IN THEM.
Book me to be your speaker at your next event –> www.kingsleygrant.com/speaking
