The difference between a boss and a leader lies in the way an individual works to innovate, create and inspire their employees to grow and enforce a sense of work ethic and positive attitude in them. While bosses are merely there to dictate, leaders are there for all the highs and lows and give their best to connect with other employees, enabling them to form a meaningful bond with the company they work for. There is a fine line between leadership behavior and leadership practices. While leadership qualities refer to the behavioral qualities of the individual, leadership practices refer to the strategies and actions the individual implements for the betterment of the team.
Some of the leadership practices that can help leaders maintain leadership balance and drive include:
● Active Relationship Building
When leaders put in the effort to know their employees and understand their problems it helps create an ambiance of mutual respect and helps boost the morale of the employees who feel valued and heard. It also makes the employees feel more committed to their work. Building a healthy relationship with employees also makes them more open to positive criticism which makes them aware of their strengths and weaknesses. In most cases, an individual can come off as a bad leader when they are solely focused on solving the problems at the forefront rather than striving to build a sustainable space for growth and development where the roles of employees are acknowledged.
● Keeping an Eye for Talent
Even when there is no requirement for a position to be filled in, good leaders never give up on the quest for new talents that can give the company the growth boost it requires. Moreover keeping a solid network of prospective employees can be a solid backup plan when the time comes for filling up a vacant position, thereby ensuring that the regular working process of the company isn’t hampered in case of a resignation or termination.
● Making the Goals They are Striving for Clear to Others
When an individual assumes a position of responsibility, they often have a set of goals they wish to achieve. When a leader puts forth these goals in an articulated manner, it helps establish clarity among the employees regarding what they should look forwards to and how they should be working to achieve those goals in the given period. It also provides the employees with a sense of direction when it comes to decision-making for the organization.
● Real and Regular Feedback
Employees can only grow and get better when they have a clear idea of what they are and aren’t doing right, which is why leaders need to provide employees with real-time feedback for their work. Checking a mistake early can help nip the problem in the bud while acknowledging work well done can help motivate the employee. Also, timely constructive criticism goes a long way in ensuring that they feel involved and that their work is being taken seriously. Most leaders often find it better to criticize individual shortcomings of the employees in one-on-one meetings rather than as a whole which might otherwise make the employee feel uncomfortable, and group discussions must be held for those areas where the team could improve as a whole.
● Setting Boundaries
As people spend the majority of their time at their workplace it is important to have meaningful bonds and friendships in the workplace. However, that must not hamper the performance of the employee. It is up to the leader to ensure that there is a solid and respectable boundary between the professional and personal activities of the employees in the workplace. The aim is to have a pleasant working environment for all and no behavior that disrupts this balance should be tolerated.
These are among some of the most simple, yet powerful practices by which an individual can establish their authority as a good and efficient leader.
