On this page12 sections
- Quick picker
- Leader at work and in organisations
- Leader of a team, crew or army
- Leader of a country or people
- Leader as someone who shows the way
- Informal and playful words for a leader
- Negative words for a leader
- When the leader is not a person
- Synonyms for leadership
- Words that are easy to misuse
- Practice
- Quick answers
Common synonyms for leader are head, chief, boss, director, captain, commander and ruler. For someone who leads by example or shows the way, use pioneer, trailblazer, guide or mentor. The right word depends on the setting: a company has a director, a team has a captain, an army has a commander, and a country has a ruler or head of state.
“Leader” is a wide word. It covers the person with official power, the person others follow without any title, and even a company that sells more than its rivals. The lists below sort the alternatives by where the leading happens and what it says about the person, with an example for each, followed by words that are easy to misuse. If you need verbs for your CV instead, see synonyms for managed on your resume.
Quick picker
| The leader of… | Try |
|---|---|
| a company or department | head, director, manager, chief executive, boss |
| a team or crew | captain, skipper, team lead, coach |
| a meeting, board or committee | chair, chairperson, president |
| an army or mission | commander, commanding officer, general |
| a country | ruler, head of state, head of government, president, prime minister, monarch |
| a movement or new field | pioneer, trailblazer, founder, figurehead, standard-bearer |
| a gang or a plot | ringleader, mastermind, kingpin |
| a market or race | front-runner, market leader, pacesetter |
Leader at work and in organisations
| Word | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| head | The person in charge of a unit; neutral and widely used. | She’s the head of the design team. |
| chief | The top person; mostly in titles (chief executive, police chief). | The fire chief closed the road. |
| director | A senior leader of a company, project or department. | The project director signed off the budget. |
| manager | Someone who runs people or work day to day. | Ask your manager before booking leave. |
| supervisor | Oversees others’ work, often on a shift or site. | The night supervisor called an ambulance. |
| boss | Informal for the person you work for. | My boss lets us leave early on Fridays. |
| executive | A senior decision-maker in a company. | Two executives resigned after the report. |
| principal / head teacher | Leader of a school (principal US; head teacher or head UK). | The principal spoke at graduation. |
| chair / chairperson | Runs a meeting or a board. Chair is the usual gender-neutral choice. | The chair called the meeting to order. |
| team lead | Leads a small team without being a manager; common in tech. | Talk to the team lead about the bug. |
Leader of a team, crew or army
- captain: leader of a sports team, a ship or an aircraft. The captain lifted the trophy.
- skipper: informal for a captain, especially of a boat or a team. The skipper wants us on deck.
- coach: trains and directs a team from outside it; not the same as the captain.
- commander: leads soldiers, a mission or a military unit. The commander ordered a retreat.
- general, officer: military ranks; use them only when the rank is right.
- foreman / forewoman, crew chief: leader of a work crew or, in court, the jury’s spokesperson (foreperson is the neutral form).
Leader of a country or people
- ruler: someone who governs, often with personal power; feels historical. the rulers of medieval France
- head of state / head of government: formal and precise. In the UK the monarch is head of state and the prime minister is head of government.
- monarch, sovereign: a king or queen.
- premier: a prime minister, or the leader of a Canadian province or Australian state.
- chief, chieftain: leader of a tribe or clan.
- statesman / stateswoman: an experienced, respected political leader; always admiring.
- elder: a respected senior member of a community, often with an advisory role.
Leader as someone who shows the way
These do not need a title. They describe someone others follow because of what they did.
- pioneer: one of the first to do something. a pioneer of keyhole surgery
- trailblazer: a pioneer who opens a path for others. She was a trailblazer for women in engineering.
- founder: the person who started a company, school or movement.
- visionary: a leader with an original idea of the future. Overused in business writing; save it for someone who really had one.
- guide, mentor: a leader for one person or a small group; personal and supportive.
- role model: someone people copy, by example rather than by instruction.
- standard-bearer: the leading figure of a cause. the standard-bearer of the reform movement
- spearhead: the person or group at the front of an effort. Also a verb: She spearheaded the campaign.
Informal and playful words for a leader
- the boss, the person in charge: everyday and neutral.
- head honcho: the top person, jokingly. From Japanese hanchō, “squad leader”.
- top dog: the person or team that dominates. After the win, they’re top dog in the league.
- big cheese, bigwig: an important person; slightly mocking.
- the brains behind: the person who planned something. She was the brains behind the festival.
- alpha: the dominant member of a group; borrowed from animal behaviour and often used ironically.
Negative words for a leader
- ringleader: leads others in wrongdoing. The ringleader was expelled; the others were suspended.
- mastermind: planned a crime or a scheme (can be neutral: the mastermind of the rescue).
- dictator, tyrant, despot: rules with absolute, cruel power.
- demagogue: wins support by stirring up emotion and prejudice.
- kingpin: the leader of a criminal organisation.
- figurehead: a leader in name only, with no real power. Not a compliment if the person thinks they are in charge.
When the leader is not a person
A company, product or team can be a leader too. Here the useful words are market leader, front-runner (ahead in a race or contest), pacesetter (sets the speed others follow), industry leader and forerunner (something that came first and led to later versions: the telegraph was a forerunner of the internet).
Synonyms for leadership
For the quality rather than the person: guidance, direction, management, command, authority, stewardship (careful, responsible leadership) and initiative (taking the lead without being asked). For the figurative side, see idioms for leadership such as take the helm and lead from the front, and leadership metaphors.
Words that are easy to misuse
| Watch out | Why |
|---|---|
| boss in formal writing | Too casual for a report or a cover letter; use manager or supervisor. |
| figurehead as praise | It means “no real power”. Use leading figure instead. |
| ruler for a modern elected leader | Suggests personal power; head of government or the title is more accurate. |
| chairman for everyone | Chair works for anyone and is standard in most organisations. |
| principal vs principle | The school leader is a principal; a principle is a rule or belief. |
| captain vs coach | The captain plays; the coach trains the team from outside. |
Practice
Choose the best word for each gap.
- The ______ of the football team scored twice. (captain / chair / ruler)
- The board elected a new ______ for its monthly meetings. (chair / skipper / kingpin)
- Police arrested the ______ of the smuggling gang. (pioneer / ringleader / mentor)
- Marie Curie was a ______ in the study of radioactivity. (figurehead / pioneer / supervisor)
- The king had no real power; he was only a ______. (figurehead / commander / trailblazer)
- My ______ approved my holiday request. (manager / sovereign / standard-bearer)
Answers: 1 captain. 2 chair. 3 ringleader. 4 pioneer. 5 figurehead. 6 manager.
Quick answers
What is another word for leader? Head, chief, boss, director, captain, commander, ruler, or for someone who shows the way, pioneer or trailblazer.
What is a formal word for leader? Director, head, chief executive, chair, or, for a country, head of state.
What is a gender-neutral word for chairman? Chair or chairperson.
What is the opposite of a leader? A follower; in a team, a member; at work, a subordinate or team member.
What do you call a leader with no power? A figurehead.
Related: another word for important.