I am not, nor will I ever be, your 'boss'

There are words I love, and words I hate (moist comes to mind). And at the moment I am spending a lot of time telling people to not use the word 'boss' around me.

I think it probably comes down to the stereotypical view of a workforce, where the 'boss' is the guy that comes in late, gets paid more, sits in an office all day and only really has anything to do with you when you stuff up. And that is not, nor will it ever be, something that I am.

So if i am not a 'boss' what am I? What I tell the team I lead at the moment is that 'I'm not your boss, I just do a different job to you, and for me to do mine I need you to do yours, BUT for you to do yours I need to do mine'. And I believe that. Every team I've ever led has had some truly brilliant people in it and far be it for me to come in and tell them how to do their job - instead, I should be supporting them to do it, praising them when they excel at it, and sure - maybe having a quiet word when they're not so good at it. But I can do all of those things without a stupid, outdated title that has no bearing on how modern workplaces function.

I am not, nor will I ever be - your 'boss' - but I can sure have your back if you're part of my team, and I can support you every step of the way. That's my role.