4 Differences Between Bosses & Leaders (Which are You?)

To start off, when I say “boss,” I’m talking about the kind of manager whose leadership strategies are all about command and control.

Bosses want to be seen as the dominant force in the office and business and tend to “manage” their employees through intimidation and fear.

They have a very “top-down” way of doing things and think it’s more important to be in control of their team rather than to establish trust and inspiration.

Often, a boss’s management style is very rigid. There’s no nuance, no ability to see different sides of an issue.

The boss declares, “I’m in charge” and “I’ve decided this” and “I expect that” – without encouraging any input from their team. It’s the boss’s way or the highway.

Of course, big decisions need to be made all the time in business, and being decisive is necessary and important.

A World Without Marketing

“Imagine no possessions.
I wonder if you can…”
—John Lennon

Marketing drives our world today. Everything from political candidates to clothing to cars and cell phones is presented to us through a filter of manipulative images and languaging. True needs (supporting life) have been replaced with artificial needs (unnecessary, even detrimental, to our lives). What would the world be like without marketing? Some economists say it would fall apart, no longer driven by false monetary incentives. I don’t believe it.

Connecting Your Creative Visualization and Motivation

Some people, when they hear the word, “visualization,” think it means sitting around daydreaming.

But that’s not at all what it is…

Visualization is the practice of intentionally creating detailed pictures in your mind – both still pictures and movies – of the outcomes you want to achieve.

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help motivate you to achieve any goal – such as writing a book, getting a promotion, making more money, paying off your debts, becoming financially independent, taking that dream vacation you want, losing weight, or improving your golf game.

Visualization helps you achieve your goals for several reasons.

How to Trigger Change

When Dr. David Dao was dragged off a United Express Flight by police officers from Chicago’s O’Hare airport on April 9, 2017, the ensuing outcry resulted in policy changes at major airlines. When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, the highly split US Senate came together and voted for the first time in U.S. history to advance a bill to withdraw military forces from an unauthorized war (in Yemen) using the War Powers Resolution Act. The November 27, 2018 Senate vote, a stunning 63 to 37 bi-partisan action, delivered an historic rebuke to Saudi Arabia and President Trump.  
 

These two stories are among the many examples of actions that trigger demands for change.

 As I am watching the campaigning on television for the Governor of Illinois where I currently reside, I am wondering about concept of conscious leadership. To give some background, in Illinois four out of last seven governors went to jail. We have a severe budget crisis due to budget stalemate that started in 2015 and went on for 793 days and finally ended in July 2017. Illinois was the first state to have credit rating go to “junk” status. State agencies have had to cut back on many essential services including healthcare for the people who needed the most care, which I experienced first-hand while taking care of my patients.

My question is, what makes a great leader? Is it education, wealth, charisma, power or strength? In my opinion, the 3 requirements for conscious leadership are personality, vision and values.

“A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”--John C. Maxwell.