What are The Differences Between Being a Boss and Leader?
Boss is a person who has formal authority over another, while a leader is one who influences the behavior of another person, to generate a positive result.
In this sense, we would say that the important difference is that a leader does not necessarily have authority, although, of course, he can have it; There are bosses who are true leaders.
The boss speaks, and the leader listens and speaks
The boss is always right, he feels that he does not have to listen to anyone; He says what to do because he is the boss.
While the leader considers that there may be a better idea than his own, so he listens to his team, consolidates the information (the one that he has, plus the one that the team transmits to him), and subsequently makes a decision; a collegial validated and enriched decision.
The chief delegates and the leader empowers
A boss is a person who receives instructions from above, that is the process, and ensures that it is executed as requested. While the leader questions the process; it is open to the opinions of others to modify the process, including creating a new process.
In this sense, a task is delegated and authority is empowered. The leader gives people the authority to do their homework because he taught them to do it, promoting their development; while the boss just gives orders, and delegates tasks.
The boss directs action and the leader directs and inspires
The boss tells you that “here we go”; the leader tells you where we are going, but also why we do it. The leader inspires, promoting a context of challenge in front of his team so that new ideas also arise and take them into account.
The boss looks for culprits and the leader learns from the mistake
Faced with error, perspectives change. While the boss looks for a culprit with expressions like who did this? a leader learns from the error, worrying about what might have happened, what went wrong, and how you can avoid or improve;
Whoever made the mistake is the least of it. In addition, it should not be forgotten that error can generate innovation, so it is important to learn from errors even to innovate.
The boss feeds his own ego while the leader feeds the team spirit
The boss’s position is in his ego, while the leader seeks to strengthen the self-esteem of his entire team. There is a fine line between ego and self-esteem, although, many times, we confuse them.
The ego blinds you to the growth of another and that violates you; Self-esteem is based on self-knowledge, on knowing what one is worth and what he contributes, and being open to others also contributes to continuing enriching ourselves. “I’m comfortable with what I’ve accomplished so far, but if anyone has a better idea, go ahead. “
The ego transmits a finished product syndrome, while self-esteem is always in a process of growth. “I know myself, I see that I am good in many aspects, but I can always improve.”
Why should organizations have Leaders and not Leaders?
Because bosses do not promote innovation, they are not open to it, nor are they made to innovate. However, a leader is always in the process of constant growth. In the 21st century, this is very important for people to evolve in these two categories.
Likewise, in the day today, the new generations have a certain rejection of the term “Boss”, since they do not accept authority by the authority itself. They accept authority when there is a reason involved and when it is justified.
In conclusion, I would say that we are talking about an evolutionary process where the boss was necessary for the 20th century, based on the context that was lived, but the 21st century evolved and requires other types of approaches.
