Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

Law #60

Position Yourself To Be A Leader

A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. (Russell H. Ewing)

Some Definitions

Boss – A person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.. To be master of or over; manage; direct; control. Chief; master.

Create(s) – To cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. To be the cause or occasion of; give rise to.

Fear – A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. That which causes a feeling of being afraid; that of which a person is afraid.

Lead / Leader – To go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort. To influence or induce; cause. To guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring. A person or thing that leads. A guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group.

Confidence – Full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing. Belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance.

Fixes – To place securely; make stable or firm. To secure to another; attach. To set or place definitely; establish.

Blame – To hold responsible; find fault with; censure. To place the responsibility for. An act of attributing fault; censure; reproof.

Correct(s) – To set or make true, accurate, or right; remove the errors or faults from. To point out or mark the errors in. To scold, rebuke, or punish in order to improve.

Mistake(s) – An error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.. A misunderstanding or misconception.

Know(s) -To perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty. To have established or fixed in the mind or memory. To be cognizant or aware of.

All – The whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration). The whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively). The greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree).

Ask(s) – To put a question to. To seek an answer to. To seek information about.

Question(s) – An expression of inquiry that invites or calls for a reply. A subject or point open to controversy; an issue. A point or subject under discussion or consideration.

Makes – To cause to exist or happen; bring about; create. To bring into existence by shaping, modifying, or putting together material; construct. To cause to be or become.

Work – Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil. Productive or operative activity. The result of exertion, labor, or activity.

Drudgery – Menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work. Tedious, menial, or unpleasant work.

Interesting – Engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity. A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to something. Absorbing, entertaining. Interesting, pleasing, gratifying; satisfying to the mind.

Source: Dictionary.com

Are Bosses Leaders?

Some are and some aren’t. To me, a boss is a person who is artificially placed in a position of authority. Some bosses are incredible people and they deserve to be in such a position of authority. Other bosses are not always so great once they are placed in a position of authority.

However, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. ALL bosses have within them the capacity to become a great leader. Leadership, like many other skills is something that can be taught and can be learned.

If you are already a leader, you have an obligation to teach others how to be leaders. If you are a boss (especially a new one), you have a duty to your subordinates to learn the appropriate skills necessary to make you into a leader.

What’s The Difference Between A Boss And A Leader?

A boss is a person who has been placed in charge of a situation. A leader is quite often also a person who has been placed in charge of a situation. HOWEVER, the difference is who put them in charge.

Bosses are often placed in charge by their company. Quite simply, they are placed in charge and if you are subordinate to them, you are expected to listen to them and do as they say.

Leaders on the other hand are often placed in charge by the people they lead. Or to put it another way, a boss doesn’t rise up to the level of being a leader, until such time as the people he is leading, have “appointed” him as their leader.

In other words, one doesn’t become a leader until such time as they demonstrate to those around them that they have the ability to lead.

Take Another Look At The Quote

Bosses rule by fear. They rule over you simply by virtue of their authority.

Leaders inspire confidence. They rule because people are inspired by them and want to follow them.

A boss focuses on blaming others.

A leader focuses more on correcting mistakes so that they don’t happen again in the future. Blame is less important than fixing the problem.

A boss walks into a situation and tells you to do it their way, simply because they assume that they already know everything there is to know.

A leader walks into a situation and asks the appropriate questions of his subordinates. After all, a good leader realizes that his subordinates and the ones who are most familiar with “front line” situations and they may know more about doing their job than anyone else.

When you go to work for your boss, your work is often dull and boring.

When you go to work for a leader, you can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. Every day is exciting.

Creating Leaders

A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders. (Author Unknown)

To me, this is the true test of a leader.  It’s not how many people you can get to line up behind you.  It’s how many people you can inspire to get out and lead others.

As I said earlier in this post, if you are already a leader, you have an obligation to teach others how to become leaders.

That is one of my major goals behind Achievement IQ® and the Laws of Positioning®.  All of you are capable of accomplishing so much.  My goal is to help you figure out how to do that so that you can inspire others to walk along the path we are all forging together.

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