Are You A Boss Or Leader?

Many employees are of the assumption that being saddled with so much responsibility should put a fence between you and your subordinates at work. 

While this might work in some scenarios (e.g companies with strong power culture), it may not work in others. As with everything, balance is key.


The most important quality a good leader should have is GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS. Remember communication is a two-way thing: 1. Ensuring the receiver totally and completely understands the information you are trying to send; 2. Understanding what message the receiver is trying to pass across. When employees are acting out what they may not have the courage to say to you, a boss would ignore and just make sure they get the job done. However, a leader should be sensitive to these behavioural patterns and do the mature thing by addressing any issues on ground very firmly.



Another quality a good leader has is EMPATHY. Try as a much as possible to put yourselves in the next person’s shoes. It can be difficult sometimes as people may try to take advantage of this aspect of you. But, before you express that you have had it with a bugging situation; let there be at least one instance where you have tried to ‘understand’ with it. For instance, if you notice a person is cranky at work, a boss would walk in and scold them about their attitude; but a leader oud try asking them if all is well in their personal life. You can then move on to stating that the reason why you are asking is because of their work attitude. Showing that you care (even if you really don’t –lol) is a good way to drive the message home.




CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK is very important. Many superiors do not do this because they don’t want to be seen as being too harsh, blunt etc. Other times, favouritism comes in to play. So when your favourite employee does something wrong and you don’t complain; it makes it more difficult to express some level of disappointment when another person repeats it. This should not be so in a work environment. Even if the defaulting individual is the highest performer, it is good to give feedback. It helps them to build on their strengths and generally fosters personal development. A leader would give feedback by appraising the person on the things they have done right, before you drop the negative ‘bombshell’. A boss would just drop it like it’s hot and not give a hoot – lol. People may not always take feedback the right way, but remember it is part of your job to help them grow.




PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACH is a very key attribute in leadership. When you make a rule, try not default. It is easier to make everyone show up on time, by showing up on time; and more difficult to tell them to come early by just shouting about it. Same goes for dress codes, task delivery and communication. It’s easy being a boss just be talking, however a leader acts out what they speak about.




I will stop here for now.


Do you have any good boss/ bad boss experiences? What remarkable leaders and leadership qualities have you come across in the course of life and/or career?


BV Chikito