Do You Think, You a Leader or Just a Boss?

• There are many differences between Bosses and Leaders. Supervisors and managers should consistently analyse their leadership styles to ensure they are successfully leading their teams.
• According to a recent study, 49% of professionals surveyed have quit a job due to a bad boss.
• To become a good leader, you should influence, inspire and mentor your team members.
• There are a few key strategies that every great leader incorporates into their behaviour: delegating authority, being thoughtful to team members, facilitating open communication and setting clear employee expectations.

Being promoted to a management role may seem like a great accomplishment, but many professionals find the responsibility to be more challenging than they imagined. Merely being someone's boss doesn't mean you are a good leader.

Effective leadership is increasingly important in the workplace, as more and more employees are leaving great companies over one resolvable element – bad bosses. According to a recent study by staffing agency Robert Half, nearly half of all professionals surveyed (49%) have quit a job because of a bad boss.

There are many key differences between a boss and a leader, and it is important that you analyze your leadership style to ensure that you are effectively steering your team in the right direction. Keep in mind, though, that even those who start out with less effective management skills can modify their behaviour to become good leaders. 

How do you go from Boss to Leader?

To be a good Boss or Leader, you can incorporate a few key strategies into your behavior. Experts listed three of these strategies as thoughtfulness, communication and clear expectations for your employees.

Treating your employees with thoughtfulness. A good leader conducts their decision-making process based on the best interests of the team as well as the company.

"Leaders who lead for impact think first of their followers,". "They know that if they are doing what is in the best interest of their followers, it will bring great results for the followers and the organization."

Leaders should also incorporate good communication by listening to their teams. Listening leader will hear how to make an organization better through the words of their team.

"Listening leaders grow in influence and impact, while those who neglect to listen to their team will struggle with disengaged employees who won't listen,". "A leader who wants to be listened to should practicing listening to their people."

Whether you see yourself as a boss or a leader, the key to your success is your staff seeing you as fair in your approach toward them. Set fair, clear employee expectations and be consistent in your manners so your staff knows what they can expect from you.

"This is essential in the workplace, as one of the greatest causes of employee stress is not knowing what to expect from their manager". Frequent changes in focus and conflicting priorities will leave staff feeling anxious. However, effective communication and a clear goal will ensure that teams all pull in the same direction.