Bosses are not Leaders but leaders can be Bosses

We’ve all had jobs where we have felt like there was no point in being there and our job wasn’t essential.  The boss would sit in their office all day, maybe sending an email or two about projects that need to be finished but other than that the boss mainly stayed in their office.  You hardly heard anything from them, and when you did it’s wasn’t clear what they wanted.

Just because someone is, a boss does not mean they are a leader.  There are qualities leaders have that most bosses don’t.

What does a supervisor need to do to be a true leader?

First and foremost, leaders have to be teachers.  A teacher's job is to educate and bring out the best in their students.  Good teachers don’t sit at the desk telling the kids what to do, they show examples, walk around the class helping students with what they need.  Occasionally being stern when they need to be.  Teachers communicate making sure they comprehend the concepts or projects they’re working on.  Once someone is done with their work or project, they grade their work.  When they’re grading they don’t insult the kids or give up on them, they hand constructive criticism and help them get better.

Leaders should always live by the saying “We are only as strong as our weakest link.”  What does this saying really mean?  It means your team, group, office or company is only as strong as its weakest team member is.  Leaders are able to be humble when they know that they screwed up or someone on the team made a mistake.  Leaders do not blame other people because they are the teachers; it’s their job to make sure that everyone understands what needs to be done.  Then the leader checks everyone’s work to make sure it was done properly.  If someone did something, wrong they do not yell, condemn, or chastise they explain where they made the mistake and how to fix it.  This is should be done in private, never in a group or peers.  Morale of the everyone is extremely important; no one should ever feel degraded.  People should be inspired.  They should want to work and to have pride in what they do.  They must be committed to give people everything they need to succeed.

We’ve all heard the word Integrity before, I remember in high school integrity was always stressed.  I never thought about it much then, but to be a good leader you must have integrity.  A leader is honest with the people, and not just those they are leading.  Being secretive can have a major affect others morals.  If there is an issue with someone’s work, a great leader will tell him or her, not in a mean or degrading way but in a constructive and educational way.  It was once said, “A great leader can tell you to go to hell in a way that you actually look forward to the trip.”  You should also be fair to everyone, not playing favorites or leaving some behind.  You don’t single anyone out in front of everyone and humiliate him or her.  You need to promote unity and teamwork.

Leaders come in all shapes, sizes and personalities, the same way as the people they lead.  They need to be able to analyze the people they lead to find their strengths and weaknesses.  This helps to be able to put them in the best position to be successful.  Tough decisions have to be made, but real leaders have the confidence in their decisions.  When they make a bad decision they can’t let that break them, they are confident that the situation can be fixed and they will do better next time.  They should be creative in their solutions because one thing that worked in the past don’t always work.  Leaders can have different visions for how to succeed.  There is no one way of doing things.

To be a Boss and a leader you must know your purpose and purpose is not to sit in an office and send emails.  The purpose of a leader is to bring out the best in their people, teach them to be their best, inspire them to work hard and take pride in what they do and promote teamwork.  To be a great leader you must have integrity, commitment, communication skills, accountability and must be confident in your decisions.  A boss is only a leader when they do all of these things.  If all these are followed then they are sure to succeed and bring out the best in their employees.