Lead Or Command??

Um, anyone know the difference?? I do.

Commander; Tells one of his men to "Jump in the lake,", and the guy does so without question.

Leader; A bad leader tells one of his men to "Jump in the lake." and the man asks 'Why, I will get all wet and it's cold??"

A good leader tells one of his men "Your pants are on fire, jump in the lake dummy." And the guy does so without question.

What's the difference? Simple; The Commander has earned his position over time and any man under him will do as he says without an argument.

A leader HAS to earn the respect of his men and if he earns it, his men will eventually jump in the lake without question too.

The lesson here is a true "Leader" will tell you why something needs to be done and not command it (except in dire situations, I have been there).

A simple thing I learned a long tima ago is; asking one of your men "Do you think we should do (whatever)?" works way better than "Go do (whatever)."

Unless you are in the military, you don't need to command. Try to truly lead if you are in a management position. People are pretty smart animals and you can lead us better with a guiding leash, instead of a whip.

Oh, replace him with her if you don't like my example, it is only an example, ya know??