The Difference Between Leader and Boss

Translated by Google Translate

Being a Leader is a Choice, Being a Boss is an Assignment

My first professional experience, right after finishing my Industrial Engineering degree, was in a financial sector company. I was hired as Commercial Director, even though I had no experience whatsoever. At first, I wondered how and why I had that position, when not only was I a recent graduate, but I also had no one reporting to me, no one to direct. Little by little, during my first commercial visits, I began to understand. My meetings were with Financial Managers or Vice Presidents of companies; at that level, they wanted to have contact with a valid interlocutor, and the job title, in some way, reinforced that. It didn't take me long to realize that this was not what I wanted, and I decided to exchange my personal office with a computer for a representative's briefcase on the street. There, I began my path of professional development and leadership.

I am convinced that leaders are not born; they are made through effort, work, and dedication. It is true that, as in any discipline, one can be born with some leadership qualities; perhaps we have a certain ease in communication or sensitivity in dealing with people. But if these are not worked on over the years and combined with other faculties, it will be difficult to become inspiring leaders.

The great difference between managing and leading lies in the fact that the first action is directed at things or objects: we manage money, inventories, brands, etc., but in the second, we lead people. People have emotions, feelings, and priorities that also change according to their life cycle; if we do not understand this, we will not be able to lead and inspire them to reach their maximum potential. On many occasions, when we are assigned a position of hierarchy, management, direction, or headship, we encounter the complexity of having to mix both responsibilities. We manage resources and, in addition, we directly or indirectly lead teams of people to try to obtain the best possible results.

We can be very good managers with a great capacity to plan, organize, direct, and control, and achieve results in this way. However, if we do not manage to lead people in an inspiring way, over time, the results will be affected, not only because the attitude and motivation of the team decline, some leave, and those who stay do not give their one hundred percent, but also because in the long term, there will be no one to lead when we are not there. Managers, whether they are called managers, directors, or bosses, come and go in organizations; leaders leave an indelible mark, a true legacy, transforming the lives of the people they interact with, developing their best version, and forming new leaders who will continue the work of their predecessors in the future.

In the industrial engineering faculty, they taught us that every process, no matter how perfect it seems, is susceptible to improvement. That was our "mantra" and the reason for being in the career. In the end, it is what we seek as professionals in this discipline: to improve any production process, no matter how perfect it seems. In my opinion, it is the principle that has led to reducing the tire change time in car races from 20 minutes in its beginnings to less than 2 seconds today, something almost unimaginable some time ago. Being an inspiring leader is a process of continuous improvement; we must be open to learning and improving every day.

Leaders are not there to stand out but to serve. Positions do not make us leaders; being an inspiring leader is a personal decision that requires dedication and effort like any discipline in life. Drawing an analogy of this topic with football, one can be born with some qualities or skills, but one does not become Messi or Ronaldo without a lot of work and sacrifices.