Let's Talk About - Are you a Leader or a Boss?

Perhaps you have been given an opportunity to lead in your workplace or even a group assignment. 

You feel the pressure to perform well. Maybe even exceed expectations. 

Or even just to scrap by and hopefully don't get called out by your boss / teacher / lecturer. 

Regardless, you need to get the job done one way or another. How do you communicate your expectations to your colleagues or group mates?

You can bark the tasks out according to the brief, and sit back and enjoy your free time. 

People not performing the tasks as you envisioned? You can raise your voice and order them to do what they are supposed to do. You can keep a close eye on them, making sure that they complete the tasks to your expectations, or risk being scolded or chided by you. After all, that's the only way that you can ensure that the task is completed as per your expectations right?

I am a complete believer of the fact that in many cases, that people are put in positions of authority only due to their long-serving tenure in that company, or perhaps competence in a particular job scope = resulting in them being 'bosses'.

Yet, these people, who were employees who went to work and did what they were told or whatever they needed to fulfil their job scope just awhile ago, are now thrust into a position of authority and influence over others. They are also suddenly expected to manage people - which is a totally different job scope compared to what they did previously, i.e. sales, marketing, law, engineering etc

But here's the catch: they have NO experience managing people (at least in the workplace environment).

So then what happens?

Best case scenario: they received some informal training or have some sort of experience leading a group outside of work, maybe volunteering at a local charity or religious organization, and are somewhat able to lead a team well. 

Worst case scenario: it's a train-wreck. They only know how to do their work well, but fails to juggle the different responsibilities that a leader is supposed to take on. Amongst the responsibilities that I think a leader should have are as follows, which is not exhaustive: 

• Getting to know their team-mates / team in a genuine way (understanding their strengths and weaknesses);
• Effective communication of expectations both-ways between team-mates and between leaders and their team;
• Efficient delegation of work by playing on each of the team member's strengths;
• Effective supervision of work by communication of expectation but yet allowing autonomy at the same time;
• Cultivate a working-relationship in the team that encourages feedback that would lead to the improvement of the team and each team member (including the leader himself / herself);
• Be humble and open to suggestions on how to improve the working environment and the working relationship within the team;
• To provide opportunities for continuous training for each of the team members to brush up on their hard skills (industry-related) and / or soft skills (transferable; not industry specific);

These are just a few from the top of my head. I would think, through your own experiences, that you would have worked with and for many leaders / bosses in your line of work, and would have wanted them to perhaps do something differently.

It is a real pity when we enjoy our work and our working environment as a whole (i.e. the company we're working for) but that experience is marred by our working with our direct supervisors. It can even get to the point that

To counter this scenario, I would strongly advocate for training when someone is considered to be promoted to a supervising or leadership role or if you are considering to be your own boss and start your own business! Ever more so for soft-skills type of training on how to people-manage, communication: how to communicate instructions well, giving and receiving of feedback, how to motivate employee etc - which I think, it's not necessarily a common sense-type of skill that one could have despite working for many years. 

Since taking up my Masters, I have been more aware of the necessity of continuous learning and training in whatever role that I am doing at the moment.