“Boss” vs “Leader”
Over time I’ve been
able to observe others and myself in leadership positions. As time went on, I learned to understand the
difference between a “Boss” and a “Leader” as well as that, at times, it’s
actually necessary for us to be a boss rather than a leader.
I see plenty of infographics which describe the difference
between “bosses” and “leaders”. These
usually suggest that it’s better not to be a “boss” as this character tends to
“lead from behind”, “tell” rather than “sell” and all sorts of activities that
we generally don't like.
Skilful people know when to be which. In times of crisis, when swift action is
required to avert a disaster, the “boss” style is needed as we don't have the
time or luxury to get into long discussions.
Yes, this may mean that the top person makes the wrong decisions, and
the disaster they were trying to avert actually happens instead due to their poor
reading of the situation, but sometimes a decision is better than no decision
at all.
We’ve seen enough instances of that, but let’s take an
extreme situation of a military patrol in hostile territory coming under
fire. In these circumstances, training
takes over and the patrol sergeant or officer will normally read the situation
in seconds tell the rest of the patrol what to do in no uncertain terms based
on what they learnt both on training and from experience in similar situations
in the past.
They only have seconds (if that) to read the situation,
react, form a plan and execute it. If
they get it right, everyone walks away (except the “bad guys”). If they don’t, it may mean the loss of the
patrol.
In the current age, my observation is that most cultures
prefer the “leader” style, the one who “sells” and who says “follow me” rather
than “do as I say”. Experiments have
shown that group discussion and decision-making tends to produce better results
than one individual taking decisions in isolation. If you want proof, try an exercise called “Lost
at Sea”.
We prefer those who take the time to get to understand us as
people rather than employees. Leaders
who understand this tend to get better performance out of their teams.
Labels: Leadership, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 10:22
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