Dream Big and Win

11Leading

A common misconception is that to be a leader, you have to be the boss; this is simply untrue. While the terms are used interchangeably (admittedly by me as well), they aren't the same thing because they entail different qualities. Not all leaders are bosses, and not all bosses are leaders. If mentioning this difference doesn't spark an immediate flash of recognition about some of your former managers, you've been lucky.

According to Leon Ho, the founder and CEO of Lifehack, the difference between a boss and a leader is, “A boss's main priority is to efficiently cross items off of the corporate to‐do list, while a true leader both completes tasks and works to empower and motivate the people he or she interacts with on a daily basis. A leader is someone who works to improve things instead of focusing on the negatives. People acknowledge the authority of a boss, but people cherish a true leader.”¹ Are you nodding your head yet? If not, think of it like this—the Michael Scott character on The Office is a boss; Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation is a leader.

In this chapter, we'll break down what it means to lead others via my Five Ps of Leadership, and not just boss them around. But remember—none of the Five Ps will matter if you're not coming from a foundation of integrity first.

I recently wrote about the concept of integrity for Forbes, saying, “There is such a thing as the common good, and integrity is at its core our willingness to both understand that and put ...