A work environment comprises both bosses and leaders. These roles are not limited to the head of the company alone. You might be having a great leader sitting right next to your table. That co-worker who is always eager to lend a hand or a stapler to you at work. Being a boss or a leader is a personality trait and not only a position in the corporate sector. These days we get to know many bosses in our work environments who are merely robotic and impersonal human beings who are limited to their offices. They have their designated parking lots and don't have any interest in engaging with their co-workers. On the other hand, there might be your coworkers or head of a company that goes with engaging in the personal lives of employees. They interact openly and also show vulnerability. There is a list of traits that set apart both a boss and a leader. The following are ten distinct points that prove if you or the head of your company is a boss or a leader.

 

 

1. Leaders involve their team, and bosses are by themselves:

 

When you have a mentality of putting your team first while speaking or thinking, then you have a leader's attitude. Many heads of the companies are 'bosses' and not 'leaders' because when they talk about meeting deadlines, they use words of accusation that set each member apart from the team. They do not involve themselves in the team when the company faces a loss. This sets them at a higher level than the rest employees. Doing so decreases the morale of the workers. Being a leader demands that you put yourself in the team equally. That you show an "us" attitude, which encourages the whole team to play its part truthfully. This perspective also makes the employees a feeling that they are not only trying to satisfy their boss but are accomplishing milestones for the company.

 

 

2. Leaders are listeners, bosses only speak:

 

Leaders always have the good listening ability. May it be a boss or a co-worker, if someone keenly listens to you, you will directly be inclined to them. This attitude is a stand apart point of a leader to a boss. Leaders are keen to hear about the problems and advice from their employees. They know the value of seeking help and involving the opinions of others in the process of decision making. On the other hand, bosses are dominating. They listen less but speak and order more often. They want their employees to only keep following orders without a word of advice or help. This attitude breaks a team image and demoralizes employees.

 

 

3. Leaders have a warm human attitude; bosses are robotic:

 

Many bosses or even employees can misunderstand the meaning of professionalism. They might act like robots giving orders and think it to be their job. But this is not a trait of a leader. A leader is compassionate and warm. They make an effort to reach out to their employees and sometimes listen to them personally. Acting human in the office promotes approachability to you. You seem open to ideas and advice hence maintaining a stress-free office environment.

 

 

4. Leaders do not discriminate:

 

You might still feel hatred for that child in school who was favored more by the teacher than the rest. Let us tell you that that teacher was a boss and not a leader. A leader always keeps a note of the feelings and sentiments of every worker under him. He does not promote an air of favoritism. They treat everyone equally and welcome every team member's distinct ideas about company growth. A boss always tends to pick one favorite employee and treat him better. This promotes an unfair environment in the office. Gradual employment of such behavior reduces productivity and a will to work harder.

 

 

5. Leaders make leaders, and bosses use them as tools:

 

You might have a working space where the head of the company is interested only in the output his employees generate. He is least into knowing how and who is working under him. This is an attitude of a boss and not a leader. A leader knows the value of learning and growing together. He makes sure that everyone under him or around him is well sheltered. He promotes learning and values, developing his employees in areas they lack. Such behavior full of compassion, and the "others-first" mentality flourishes everyone equally like a compact team.

 

 

6. Leaders guide, bosses scold:

 

Being in a higher position in a corporate puts a heavy-duty on your shoulder. You have to train the people below you into producing higher results. You are responsible for their moral training and self-esteem building. But if you unluckily are a boss and not a leader, you might end up scolding your employees for every slight mistake they make. Leaders, on the contrary, guide their workers about how they can fix their mistakes the next time. They deal with kindness and boost them with the confidence of doing the same thing without errors next time. A leader should have an approach that promotes learning and delivers discipline. This is the only way to maximize the output, along with training the staff to their maximum. 

 

7. Leaders are humble, and bosses deliver fear:

 

In an office environment, if you keep bossing around your employees without respecting their values, you might lose respect and gain coldness in the hearts of your workers. But if you act humble and adopt the traits of a true leader, you may build a team that every leader dreams to have. Trying to control the office environment by bullying people around all the time is not a leader trait. If your employees are scared all the time, they might not give you as good of a performance as them being stress-free. A leader treats his people with kindness and equality.

 

 

8. Leaders give credits; bosses only take it:

 

Most of the time, bosses don't let go of any chance to win credit to their name for recent success in the company. They try to steal off everyone's handwork and put it as a medal for their name. Doing so only makes them valued even less in time. No one wants a person to boss over them who doesn't even recognize his/her efforts. A leader always gives credit to his colleagues when necessary. He is not greedy for the credit that is his co-worker's right. If you appreciate and give credit to everyone who deserves it then you might promote a sense of healthy competition among your workers.

 

 

9. Leaders let their colleagues breathe, bosses rule over their every action:

 

When you assign important tasks to respective employees, you promote a sense of trust in them. You make them realize that they are smart units of the corporate that can generate results on their own with little supervision. Bosses, on the other hand, believe in criticizing their employee's every single action. Pin picking every error or action brings in more negativity into the office environment. Bosses do not expect any good from their co-workers and hence get no output as well. Believing and setting expectations promotes employees to fulfill those expectations that too positively.

 

 

10. Leaders roll their sleeves up; bosses pressurize others for the work:

 

Leaders entrust their co-workers with a feeling that they are available for help anytime possible when the need occurs. They make it clear that they are ready to lend a hand to the people working under them in the hardest tasks. Bosses use the term ordering and make people do everything all by themselves. They demand work done by any means in the required constraints. But leaders build a "let's do it" attitude by equally involving themselves in the process of office tasks. These are the ten traits every boss should have to be a leader. Every person in the corporate sector must possess these remarkable virtues to be able to promote a healthier work environment.

 

 

In conclusion,

 

All these points give one general take away that leader is always more human, generous, and hard-working to achieve the goals altogether with the team. Being a scary cliché boss will not generate any good out of the roller coaster ride. Instead, it will make you a dry person in your life out of the office. Being a cheery person who is a hope for the rest is a good trait to adopt for the betterment of both the team and the company. The above-mentioned leadership qualities will help you be a better person and a better boss and your workplace. A boss is a leader that generates both output and employee satisfaction.