Differences between leader and boss

In today's episode, Mattias discusses a graphic showing some of the differences between leaders and bosses. He also shares what aspects are essential for his leadership and why he has a picture saying 'boss' in his office.

10 differences

Firstly, Svea introduces the graphic by @agrassoblog (https://www.instagram.com/agrassoblog). It shows ten alleged differences between bosses (on the left) and leaders (on the right side):

Boss vs. Leader:

Says "I" vs. says "we"
Takes credit vs. gives credit
Micromanages vs. delegates
Criticizes vs. encourages
Focuses on weaknesses vs. focuses on strengths
Blames others vs. takes responsibility
Directs vs. coaches
Speaks more vs. listens more
Inspires fear vs. inspires enthusiasm
Commands vs. asks

Mattias' immediate thoughts when he looks at this comparison are:

1. Bosses don't build companies and
2. Leaders lead as an example with an example

Important characteristics of a leader

He also adds that there's usually a clear difference in what kind of "movement" they choose in the way they act. A boss pushes more while a leader prefers to pull. Another aspect that's very important to Mattias regarding leadership is self-confidence. If you're not confident and act confused about things, people won't trust your leadership. Equally important are commitment and responsibility.

Even though Mattias acted like a leader from day one, he didn't call himself a leader back then, nor did he call himself a boss. He did not care about terminologies and rather wanted to focus on developing himself and his leadership style. However, he does have a framed picture of the word "boss" in his office - but this was a friend's gift who jokingly gave it to Mattias some years ago.

Good leadership

For Mattias, good leadership is all about personal growth, while calling yourself a boss or a manager might be motivated by the wish to demonstrate your career standpoint. He believes that some people might start out as horrible bosses but actually grow into outstanding leaders.

Lastly, he reflects on what he wants to improve and what he is already doing well as a leader.
Something he wants to get better at is delegating tasks while coaching, listening, and encouraging others are some of his strengths.

💡 EPISODE TAKE AWAY
Leaders lead as an example with an example.

Are you a boss or a leader?