Are You A Leader or a Boss

I know what many of you are thinking out there - "Hey, Ziser, I'm a one or two person operation. I'm the leader, my wife's the boss." Wait wait, just joking - no emails please. Here is the reality. Even in a very small organization, we still need to strive to be leaders because those leadership skills play a bigger role in our success as we interact with all those around us - customers, vendors, employees, potential clients.

Remember growing up? Heck, just look at your kids if you are so blessed - they all want to be the boss. Isn't that what "sibling rivalry" is all about. As we grew up we found that being the boss never got much accomplished, but developing the leadership skills of coaching, problem-solving, delegating, leading by example, etc. is what makes a good leader and more importantly, helps you build your business. White Stag Leadership Development has quite a bit of info on leadership right here.

Here is their listing of their 11 Skills of Leadership;
Getting and Giving Information
Understanding Group Needs and Characteristics
Knowing and Understanding Group Resources
Controlling the Group
Counseling
Setting the Example
Representing the Group
Problem-Solving
Evaluation
Sharing Leadership
Manager of Learning

Jeff Gitomer is a terrific sales trainer too. I get his newsletter every week. Check out his article, "Are You A Leader Or A Boss" right here. OK, I know I not talking to the the next president of IBM (or maybe I am), but the point is this - it's about how we interact with others that reflects our leadership potential - read; business success.