What’s the first thing you discover on your first day at work? That’s right. Who’s the boss.

The boss can be a leader or a manager or even both. Here’s the interesting thing. The organization decides if the person is a boss; results decide if the boss is a manager; and we decide whether the manager is a leader. In that order.

Nonsense is always at work. So ask yourself, is leadership nonsense? Yes, when a specific situation requires management instead. And is management nonsense? Yes, when we need leadership.

And boss? Within hierarchies of power, managers and leaders are also bosses. There is no nonsense in “boss.” Either you are the boss, and act it, or you are not.

You can fake leadership for a while and you can play at management for a moment, but boss is for real.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.