Leader or Boss?
The Olympic equestrian champion, Klaus Balkenhol stated, "There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust." Throughout my career as a leader and servant of leaders, I’ve found Balkenhol to be correct. Many leaders with a title are actually not leading at all.
Leadership is essentially the exercise of influence. Northouse indicates, “Power is the capacity or potential to influence.” We often refer to a leader who leverages his position or authority as “powering up” or “bossing.” However, power can be asserted in ways that do not meet the definition of leadership.
French & Raven pioneered the discussion of leadership and power with their Five Bases of Power. One of those bases is coercive power and is punitive, featuring the ability to punish or penalize underperformers. Coercive power rises from the position the leader holds and his accompanied ability to extend or withhold punishment, i.e. promotions, raises, opportunities, etc. John C. Maxwell reminds us that “position is the lowest level of leadership.”
“Leadership is reserved for those who influence a group of individuals toward a common goal.” (Northouse, 2013) Leadership by influence is even more important as we lead emerging generations in the workforce who want to be more than employees; they want to be stakeholders. Influence is a process based on trust between the leader and his team. Unfortunately, coercive power can be wielded immediately, whereas, influence must be developed over time. This is why so many leaders forego the path of influence and opt for power plays. They either do not have the patience or the character to take the slower path and lead by influence.
There are times when a leader must use coercive power. Some measure of coercive power is implied in an organization’s policies and procedures. Also, crisis resolution often requires a more coercive approach. When the house is on fire, you’ve got to take immediate action. However, as a leader, you should use coercion sparingly and with great caution. You should be the “boss” far less than you act as the “leader.”
All great leaders are great influencers. Stop bossing and start leading.
Bibliography
Braynion, P. (2004). Power and Leadership. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 18 (6), 447-463.
French, J., & Raven, B. (1962). Group Dynamics: Research and Theory. (D. Cartwright, Ed.) New York: Harper & Row.
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. (6th). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Tost, L. P., Gino, F., & Larrick, R. (2013). WHEN POWER MAKES OTHERS SPEECHLESS: THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF LEADER POWER ON TEAM PERFORMANCE. Academy of Management Journal , 56 (5), 1465-1486.
Vecchio, R. (1987). Situational leadership theory: an examination of a prescriptive theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 444-51.