What Makes a Leader a Great Leader?

A boss controls and manages people, while a leader leads and inspires people.

A boss controls and manages people, while a leader leads and inspires people.

A boss only cares about advancing personal career and goals, while a leader focuses on his team and grows together.

Everyone wants to be a boss, but no one wants to be a leader.

But it’s the leader that will make people flourish and bloom.

You may find a boss in whatever organization, but what we need is a great leader that leads us to become more creative, more resilient, and more capable.

And only a leader-led group will rise up and soar above.

So, the question is, “What makes a leader a great leader?”

That’s what I want to talk about today.

1. They don’t just tell people what to do; they also do it themselves

“It’s senseless to see people preaching to others to read books while not picking up a book themselves. “— My Mom

There are big, huge differences between a boss and a leader.

A boss only knows to give commands to his people and his teammates. He always says, “Do this. Do that. Don’t do this. Don’t do that, etc.” He rarely does things by himself.

Whereas a leader, most of the time, works with his team and rarely does he give orders. And sometimes, he is the most hard-working person in the room. So, people around him are like, “Wow, he’s working now. So, I might as well get some work done, too.” Because he works hard, everyone around him works hard.

We have to understand the very basic principle of human psychology. It is that we are highly susceptible to our environment. Whatever happens around us, we’d like to copy them. That’s why some people notice some changes in their behavior after switching to a new environment for a certain amount of time.

In our case, a leader is emitting an aura of energy and spirit, and that ultimately spreads around the workplace and affects other people too. They feel the energy, the vigor, which leads them to be motivated and to work effectively at their tasks.

This doesn’t happen just in the work-related space; it applies everywhere. In a family, if you want your child to be more disciplined and organized, you, as a parent, have to wake up early, clean the house every day and keep your house clean and organized. If you want your child to be more healthy, work out daily yourself. If you want your child to read books, read books yourself.

Set an example for them.

Only then will your words be added more weight to your children.

You don’t have to preach to others to become better. Become better yourself first.

2. They hold accountable and keep their responsibilities

“True leaders take responsibility, while false leaders BLAME.”— Anonymous

When something goes wrong, a boss-like person yells and screams, “Ah! You suck. What the hell have you just done? Don’t you understand your job?!” He only knows to blame and belittle people without solving the problem.

On the contrary, a leader-like person is solution-oriented. They go like, “Ok, we’ve made a mistake. There’s no use looking back, weeping, and blaming each other. Plus, we can solve this together. How can we recover from this situation? What actions do we need to take? What is the thing we can do right now?” Instead of playing the blame game, they focus on fixing the issues when problems arise.

Unlike a boss, who only knows to criticize and belittle, a leader takes full accountability for his team’s performance, whether the outcome is good or bad.

He praises his team when they perform well and takes responsibility when things go wrong.

They also take responsibility when they screw up or do something unfavorable. We are all humans and prone to make mistakes. But great leaders see their weaknesses and mistakes and work on improving them.

3. They have empathy

“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.” — Barack Obama

A boss demands output and results from his employees without offering any support or resources. They don’t care about their feelings or personal problems. They only care about reaping the fruits others have cultivated.

On the other hand, many great leaders have a common trait: empathy. They try to understand their teammates, such as their problems, their challenges, and their struggles. They don’t tear them down when they have performance issues, and rather they try to understand why they are uninspired and sad.

Maybe someone’s kid is sick. Maybe they’re having problems in their marriage. Maybe one of their parents is dying. Whatever it is, we don’t know what’s going on in their lives, and of course, it will affect their performance at work. And a leader tries to understand it and show him love and care. He will help him out if the problem is solvable, and if not, he will give him words of encouragement and warmth and kindness.

Empathy is being concerned about the human being, not just their output.