To be a true leader 9 things make you different.

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many corporate executives learn to be obedient. They attend prestigious Universities that celebrate academic excellence with little emphasis on human emotion.

Trained in the tradition of memory retention and academic achievement, they measure success “at work” by similar standards. 

They receive high paying jobs from people that value hierarchy and titles. They focus on performance and neglect a better understanding of human behavior, and they struggle to communicate effectively.

They exercise little patience, and their superior attitude prevents compassion and empathy from seeking deeper connections with their teams. They treat people like impositions. The message is clear. Keep your mouth shut and everything will be copasetic.

Real leadership looks very different.

Here are 9 signs you may be managing people and not providing strong leadership:

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." -John F. Kennedy

1. New ideas.  The BOSS has every new idea and never seeks input from other people. Innovation is a one-way street and creativity is the product of agreement.

2. Lazy and careless. They rely too heavily on email as a method of communication. It’s like breaking up over a text message. It prevents the discomfort genuine human connection requires when unpleasant topics need to be discussed.

3. No time for culture. They focus on performance and neglect cultivating talent and culture. They don’t mentor or coach and spend no time creating remarkable work environments where people can flourish.

4. They concentrate on commands. They focus on direction and lack the ability to cooperate. Instead of eliciting people’s opinion to ensure the best decision, they delegate and discourage discourse.

5. Shallow and insensitive.  Many BOSSES only care about performance. Did we achieve our sales goals? Did we deliver? Real leaders spend time getting to know their team and develop interest in every aspect of their life. Deeper understanding helps define intrinsic motivation.

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

-John Quincy Adams

6. Neglect acknowledgement. BOSSES believe people are supposed to do their job and seldom offer unsolicited accolades. They believe it’s not necessary to shower people with praise, "I hired them to perform". This way of thinking makes people feel unappreciated. It’s just a matter of time before minimal effort is what people offer in response. 

7. Serving the company. Healthy organizations value people and recognize how essential quality people are to success. Great leaders serve their people. Bad BOSSES believe employees are there to serve them.

8. No time for emotions. Bad BOSSES despise emotional engagement. Conversations about; stress, group dynamics, expectations, confusion, frustration are discouraged. It’s all business and business doesn’t include fuzzy feelings. 

9. No vision. Great leaders have a CLEAR vision for the future and its well-articulated. Bad BOSSES concentrate on self-preservation and maintaining the status quo. Innovation and new frontiers are too risky, so they dabble in new ideas, usually their own. This is precisely what’s crippling many organizations today. Its scary to watch huge companies without clear direction as they gamble with the future.   

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." -Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder

Sum it up

Being a BOSS and being a MANAGER are very different than being a LEADER. Real LEADERS invest heavily in the emotional language required to lead their teams.

Do you feel LEADERERSHIP is improving in 2020? Please like and share this article and include your thoughts in the comments section below. I love learning from you as well.

About Steve:

Steve Wohlenhaus is CEO of Weatherology, the leading company in the world at disseminating audio weather information.  Steve began his career as a major market television weather anchor in Minneapolis, where he received several Emmy Awards for science programming. Steve is an author and host of the podcast program Anatomy of Success. Learn more by clicking on a picture in the article! Reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn and grab the FREE Weatherology mobile app.