BOSSES AND LEADERS: They Rarely Meet in Person

Any website or course about leadership has lengthy discussions about the differences between bosses and leaders. These discussions use weird concepts and leave people craving “leaders” who will come and inspire them with visions and support them in “following dreams.”

While craving, people will continue suffering under “bosses” who “simply give orders” and abuse power. Occasionally, those who believe in “leaders are good” while “bosses are bad” will fall prey to various gurus, visionaries, prophets, and other convulsionnaires of the modern age.

Is there anything wrong with “bosses?” No, there is nothing wrong with them. And, sure, there is nothing wrong with “leaders.”

These concepts belong to different tiers of work. Often, they do not overlap.

Who is a boss? Usually, it is a person in a position of power, someone giving orders and expecting obedience. That is accurate, yet only half so. The whole truth is that a person has a boss in the first place and, thus, gets and follows orders because he works for money in some organization. And as long as he enters the relationship willingly and gets the agreed money for following the agreed orders, there is nothing wrong with it. {THE 5 EXCHANGES}.

Moreover, what might a leader do in jobs with precise results and success criteria? Does anyone need a leader to paint a wall, analyze the results of a drug trial, or prepare a financial report? Not really.

Where do these “leader vs. boss” talks originate from? They grow from mixing up different endpoints and, consequently, different types of work to reach them. {ENDPOINT TIERS}

Endpoints differ, and so will all other connected parameters. There are three tiers of endpoints—the task at the bottom, the goal in the middle, and the aspiration at the top. Bosses exist in the bottom—the task tier—where the endpoint can be formulated clearly, with numbers and minimal uncertainty.

Leaders cannot exist at the task tier—the endpoint is straightforward and can be measured. Leaders exist at the goal tier, and as such, they can help you clarify what to do to get to the goal (a manager), what competencies to acquire to fulfill your aspiration (a mentor), or help you transcend to a different state (a therapist, a shaman, a performer).

{ECPM, CRAPPY BOSSES, GOOD LEADER, MAP YOUR DREAM, LEADERSHIP SKILLS, MEANINGLESS METRICS}