“The leader leads and the boss drives”

~Theodore Roosevelt

A boss and a leader may sound like one to many but they are very different in many
aspects.
I chanced upon the picture above recently that reminded me of a quote by
Theodore Roosevelt, “The leader leads and the boss drives”. This picture so vividly
illustrates for us what this quote means.

What is a boss to you? A boss is a person who is in charge of an organisation. He

could also be one who manages other employees. Someone who is seen to put fear
into employees; drives staff to achieve the numbers he wants and blames others
when breakdowns occur. I believe this is what many see a boss as. I’m sure that you
do not wish to have such an image in the minds of your staff.

But, the qualities of a leader are different. More effort is needed to be one.

A leader seeks to inspire and guide employees. He takes an active role to teach his
employees how to do instead of simply telling them. Not only does he not blame
others for breakdowns, he fixes them. He never fails to listen to the opinions of others
and nurtures his employees in the hope that they become a better leader one day.

A story was once told of an old man, who on his deathbed, called his sons to him to
say his last words. He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks and said to his
eldest son “Break it”. The eldest son tried with all his might to break that bundle of
sticks but to no avail. All his other sons tried to break it but failed too. “Untie the
bundle of sticks,” the old man said, “and each of you take a stick.” He got them to
break the stick that each of them had and it was easily broken.
What has this story got to do with leaders? You may ask. The moral of this story is
unity is strength. It is a fact that a leader recognises. He brings his whole team to
work together with him to scale new heights and achieve extraordinary results.

Make a choice today! Which do you want to be??

My suggestion: Be a leader, not a boss!

--
Article contributed by Startup Jobs Asia's Team, ST.

Follow Startup Jobs Asia at:

Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Linkedin | YouTube