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Table 1.1 Difference between a boss and a leader
Boss
Boss Leader
• Drives employees • Coaches them
• Depends on authority • On goodwill
• Inspires fear • Generates enthusiasm
• Says, “I” • Says, “We”
• Places blame for the breakdown • Fixes the breakdown
• Knows how it is done • Shows how it is done
• Uses people • Develops people
• Takes credit • Gives credit
• Commands • Asks
• Says, “Go” • Says, “Let’s go”
Source: Anderson, A (2013)
Therefore, in order for a company to become successful it needs effective leaders instead of bosses.
1. Emotional Intelligence
Research results of various studies have proven that emotional intelligence is a critical
leadership aspect for a person to be called a good leader. Emotional intelligence involves the
process in which a person can control his or her behavior in order to maintain and develop
day-to-day relationships with others effectively (Goleman, 1998:94). According to Goleman
(2000:80) emotional intelligence encompasses four basic capabilities namely; self awareness,
self management, social awareness and social skill. These four capabilities are further
explained:
3.1 Self awareness - generally emotionally self aware managers are capable of sensing their
emotional feelings anytime (Goleman, 1998:96).
3.2 Self management - self controlled leaders are capable of regulating or minimizing
destructive feelings or thoughts before they take any action (Goleman, 2000:80).
3.3 Social awareness - empathetic managers or leaders always take into consideration the
feelings of other people before making decisions (Goleman, 2000:80).
3.4 Social skill - leaders with good social skills have various abilities when dealing with issues
and they always prefer to find a win-win solution. They believe in teamwork, transparency
and accountability of actions (Goleman, 2000:80).
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2. Objectives of Leadership
The leadership objectives align leadership decisions and actions to what the organization
believes, stands for, where it wants to go and how it intends to sustain its long term survival
(that is its values, vision, mission and prosperity) (Waters, 2014). There are several leadership
objectives and these include the following:
4.1 To build and sustain trust with the organization’s employees and other stakeholders by
practicing real care for their wellbeing, concerns, suggestions and growth (Waters, 2014).
4.2 To clarify purpose of the organization or responsibilities by communicating the vision,
establishing mutual agreement, motivating employees, thinking strategically and providing
adequate resources (Frank Covey, 2015).
4.3 To identify, grow and nurture talent through promoting skills development, career growth,
managing performance and engaging employees (Frank Covey, 2015).
4.4 To lead in a strategic, organized and uncompromised way through situations involving
conflict (Harvard Business School, 2015).
3. Advantages of leadership
There are numerous advantages an organization can enjoy as a result of good leadership and
these include the following:
5.1 Promote ethics in the organization - a good leader leads by example and will do anything to
ensure that moral values, principles and ethics of the organization are maintained by his or her
followers (Mills, 2005:13). A good example of a good business leader who practices
exemplary leadership and good principles is Aliko Dangote (President & CEO of the Dangote
Group) (Dangote Group, 2015) & (CNBC, 2014). The Dangote Group which owns 13
subsidiaries was founded in Lagos, Nigeria in 1981 by its President & CEO Aliko Dangote
who started doing business in 1978 trading in rice, sugar, cement and later on started full scale
manufacturing operations (Dangote Group, 2015).
5.2 Linking of employees’ job responsibilities and goals to the organization’s strategy - leaders
help to regularly communicate the purpose and vision of the organization (Mills, 2005:16).
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Vol.8, No.24, 2016
5.3 Increase performance and productivity - a well led organization performs at its maximum
capacity and also organizations that invest in leadership training tend to have better qualified
managers who can lead the employees more effectively (LMNG, 2012:10). A good example
of an organization that is well led and performs at maximum capacity is Walmart founded by
the late great entrepreneur Sam Walton in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas in the United States of
America. By 2014 Walmart employed 2.2 million employees globally, owned 11 000 stores in
27 countries and served over 200 million customers per week (Walmart, 2015).
5.4 Improved employee engagement - leadership has a positive direct influence on employee
engagement which focuses on creating consensus when it comes to respect in the organization
on people related issues such as what employees can do (LMNG, 2012:12).
4. Conclusion
Therefore based on the study findings it can be concluded that leadership involves persuading
and convincing people to go the extra mile in achieving the organization’s goals. The literature
findings clearly indicate that the advantage of a leader in an organization is that they help set
the direction the employees should follow to achieve the vision of the organization. In
addition leaders also help to increase business performance and productivity through
motivating the employees and setting performance objectives the employees should
accomplish.
5. References
1) Anderson, A.R. (2013), Good Leaders Are Invaluable To A Company. Bad Leaders Will Destroy It. [Online]
Available: www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2013/01/14/good-leaders-are-invaluable-to-a-company-
badleaders-will-destroy-it/ (November 18, 2015).
2) Benscotter, G.M. and Rothwell, W. (2012). The Encyclopedia of Human Resources Management. Vol. 3,
Pfeiffer.
3) CNBC (2014), Aliko Dangote. [Online] Available: www.cnbc.com/2014/04/29/25-aliko-dangote.html
(November 17, 2015).
4) Dangote Group (2015), Management Team. [Online] Available:
http://www.dangote.com/aboutus/managementteam.aspx (November 19, 2015).
5) Driscoll, M. (2011), 10 Entrepreneurs Who Changed the World. [Online] Available:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2011/1214/10-entrepreneurs-who-changed-the-world/Oprah-
Winfreyfounder-of-Harpo-Inc (July 18, 2016).
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6) Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Leadership and Management Network Group (LMNG)
(2012), Leadership & Management in the UK - The Key To Sustainable Growth. [Online] Available:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32327/12-923-
leadershipmanagement-key-to-sustainable-growth-evidence.pdf (December 12, 2015) 10 - 12.
7) Frank Covey Inc (2015), Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results for the Public Sector.
[Online] Available: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/leadership-solutions/leadership-greatleaders-
great-teams-great-results-for-the-public-sector/objectives (November 22, 2015).
8) Goleman, D. (1998). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review, March-April, 94-97.
9) Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review, March-April, 80.
10) Harvard Business School (2015), Programs. [Online] Available:
http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/hplp/Pages/objectives.aspx (November 26, 2015).
11) Kotter, P. (2001). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review, December, 86-96.
12) Kouzes, J. and Posner, B.Z. (2002). The Five Exemplary Leadership. The Leadership Challenge: How to
Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 85.
13) Mills, Q.D. (2005), Leadership How to Lead, How to Live. [Online] Available:
www.cafanet.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qwswE8roe74= (November 29, 2015) 13-16.
14) Plunkett, J.A. (2009), Plunkett's Entertainment & Media Industry Almanac. Texas: Plunkett Research
Limited.
15) Walters, C. (2014), 3 Basic Leadership Objectives. [Online] Available:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140926111139-35845630-the-3-basic-objectives-of-a-leader (December
16, 2015).
16) Walmart (2015), Our History. [Online] Available: http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/leadership
(December 10, 2015).
17) Walmart (2015), Our History. [Online] Available: http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history
(December 13, 2015).
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