Faith, Leadership and what not…
This post draws a sharp line between the title of "Boss" and the virtue of "Leadership." It argues that true leadership is built on faith—the trust followers place in a leader's footprints—and the leader's ability to return that trust by elevating their team. While Bosses operate from a place of insecurity, hiding incompetence behind micromanagement and favoritism, Leaders operate from a place of service, constantly asking what they can do to remove roadblocks. The author concludes by acknowledging that both archetypes are necessary teachers: one teaches you who to trust, and the other teaches you who not to be.
Leaders are the founding blocks of any organisation, community or anywhere they are needed. Leaders are motivators, planners and thought elevators.
When we talk of leadership we talk of the faith we have in people we religiously follow as our leaders, their ideas, and their footprints. Sometimes we go beyond the line and marry their thoughts which is okay if the leader you put your trust in stays as a leader through out and doesn’t turn you down or turn out to be a boss.
Bosses are not like leaders, Bosses are antonym to open culture. They believe in ladder roles in organisation, they love micro management and to hide their incompetence which otherwise could have been the greatest tool, they start making allies — Don’t confuse it with squads and tribes, a typical Spotify engineering culture. Its not that, its typical old school thought with corporate favouritism and title worshipers.
Leaders on the other hand are waiting for you to speak not for the sake of “communication” but to figure out what actually you want. I forgot to mention that bosses are good at communicating for the sake of communication, they talk but you won’t find any co-ordination in sentences. A meeting with boss leaves you miserable but a meeting with leader leaves you elevated.
Leaders always find your small efforts worth mentioning and praise them, doesn’t matter if it is too small to mention. But Bosses try to find that one mistake which technically doesn’t make sense to you out of other 99 worth mentioning efforts.
Leaders leave you elevated all the time, when they say they want to talk to you. It means they want to reach out to you, help you by building you.
We meet both at community, workplaces or any space they should be at. But the point is how will you figure out who is the boss and who is the Leader.
When someone relies on ‘abc’ most and directs everyone to a favourite one, You have spotted a boss. When someone reaches out to you and asks for what “better” ‘he’ can do to make environment workable, you have met a Leader. When someone ask you about action items on least important things, you have met a boss. When someone comes with an action plan, you have met a leader.
Sometimes, if a person is more interested in personal lives of employees rather than professional, you have spotted a boss.
This blogpost is dedicated to both Leaders and Bosses I have met so far, without them it wasn’t possible to write this and to be better at putting trust in.
- The Culture Clash: Leaders act as founding blocks that foster an open culture and elevate thoughts. In contrast, "Bosses" are defined by rigid hierarchy (ladder roles), micromanagement, and the creation of "allies" based on favoritism rather than competence.
- Communication vs. Noise: A meeting with a Leader leaves you feeling elevated and understood; they listen to figure out what you need. A Boss communicates just for the sake of talking—often incoherently—leaving you feeling miserable and confused.
- The 99/1 Rule: Leaders recognize and praise even the smallest efforts to build confidence. Bosses ignore 99 successful tasks to fixate on the single mistake that technically doesn't matter, using it as a tool for control rather than growth.
- Action vs. Delegation: When a Leader approaches you, they come with an action plan and ask how they can make the environment better for you. A Boss relies heavily on favorites ("allies") to do the work and pesters you about action items on the least important topics.
- Professional Boundaries: A subtle but key distinction is that Bosses often pry into personal lives rather than focusing on professional growth, whereas Leaders focus on building you up in your role.
