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Have you ever worked for a “Commander?”  You know the type.  The guy who demands that something be done without really understanding what he is asking. The woman who truly believes she can drive you to do things by force of will alone.  Yes, I have, too.

So what differentiates this person from a Leader?  Here are a few distinctions.

·         A Leader inspires the work force to accomplish great things; a commander demands that people accomplish great things.

·         A Leader empathizes with the work force; a commander empathizes only with him/herself.

·         Leaders lead from the front; commanders command from the rear.

·         Leaders seek to understand the challenges the work force face in accomplishes difficult tasks; commanders do not care about the challenges or choose to deny their existence altogether.

·         Leaders place the well being of their charges above their own; commanders care only about themselves.

·         Leaders listen more than they speak; commanders speak more than they listen.

·         Leaders are concerned primarily with how results impact the organization; commanders are concerned primarily with how results impact their image or reputation.

·         Leaders create an environment for success; commanders create barriers to success.

·         Leaders reward in public and reprimand in private; commanders almost never reward at all and reprimand in public.

·         Leaders give credit to their teams; commanders take the credit for themselves.

·         Leaders accept responsibility for failure; commanders blame their teams for letting them down.

And the list can go on and on… but you get the point.

So, for the questions that really matters:  what kind of boss are you?