First off, try to keep your emotions in check when
interacting with your employees. Major
blowups and outbursts can be very detrimental to your relationship with your
employees. It adds stress to their daily
work lives and tends to detract from success.
You need to be a motivator and give positive encouragement.
Treat your employees the way you would want to be
treated – they are people after all with emotions. Try and act like a boss you’ve admired in the
past. Your employees will appreciate you
and work harder if you show them respect.
As the boss, you must set an example of the values of your company and
others will follow. If you’re hostile, it
will lead to hostility amongst employees.
Breed an atmosphere of comfort.
Keep your
employees “in the loop” on a daily basis.
Make sure that their priorities are in line with yours. Encourage questions. Reach out to employees and see how they’re
doing. Reward success. Most importantly, listen. Often employees have good ideas and they want
to feel valued and like their opinions matters.
Those ideas, if listened to, can often lead to new and innovative ways
of doing things. Listen to the issues
your employees are raising and follow up.
Delegate
tasks. Show your employees that you have
faith in their abilities and that you trust them. Show them support and enthusiasm. Let them know that you’re not a micromanager
and that you have confidence in their abilities to work independently. Don’t hover.
Don’t play
favorites. While you might thing one of
your employees in particular is a standout success, tell them that in
private. Don’t hold meetings where you
single out employees for things they could do better. Talk to them in private and give them tips on
how to better manage their day and workflow.
Allow your
employees to express their concerns.
Have an open-door policy where they feel free to talk to you in
confidence and in an accepting environment.
Provide a listening ear; really “hear” them. Be sympathetic to their concerns and show
them that you understand and are on their side and are there to help them
succeed and grow.
Value your
employees’ opinions and you just might learn from them. New hires might have come from companies with
different rules and ways of doing things.
Take those into consideration and maybe even consider implementing them
yourself. Be open to advice and you
might find better, more efficient ways to run your company. Be open and opportunity may follow.
Train your employees to better enhance their
skills. Bring in outside advisors and
run focus groups and provide an environment that fosters a learning
environment. Help them to better enhance
their ways of working on a daily basis.
Teach them to prioritize. When
you develop your employees’ skills, your company runs smoother and better.
Always keep a positive attitude around the
office. “Strive to see the good side of
things and point these out to your staff.”
Don’t talk despairingly about the company. Keep a positive outlook.
Have
integrity as a boss. You must be
trustworthy and honest to have credibility with your employees. Don’t manipulate or lie. Set standards of truthfulness and the behavior
of your team will respond in kind.
Be an
advocate for your employees. Show them
that you’re on their side and stand behind their ability to make independent
decisions. Helping your team get the
tools and support they need is key to being a good boss.
Hire and fire
effectively. Your team counts on you to
provide the best co-workers possible.
Hire people that have the ability and willingness to do the job right. You want to bring people on board that mesh
well with them team you already have in place so they can all work together
more effectively and build trust and camaraderie. You also have to be willing to let go members
of your team who are unmotivated or bring down employee morale.
Have a
vision and communicate it effectively to your staff. “You are the captain of the ship and you need
a map and a navigational plan to get ahead and meet your goals.” While you want input from your team, you’re
still in charge and it’s your job as a boss to create a plan and inform
everyone about what his or her role is in the company. The plan you develop creates the results you
desire and want your team to embrace and implement.
Be
knowledgeable about your industry and keep ahead of the game. Make sure you’re networking with other
corporate leaders and visionaries.
Attend conference and read important media on your industry. This allows you to share the latest thinking
with your team and communicate to them any new goals or plans for the future to
move your business ahead steadily and successfully.
Motivate
your team to look for extra business development opportunities. Give your team monetary incentives for
original thoughts and ideas about growing your business. Make your employees want to exceed
expectations and give them every opportunity to do so.
Being a
great boss in not for the faint of heart and it means “balancing business with
humanity.” The day-to-day challenges of
being a great boss can be difficult, overwhelming and intense but the positives
you will reap from being the best you can be are unlimited. A great boss not only impacts his or her
current team but mentors and leads by example.
Here are
some articles you might want to check out on how to be a great boss:
“How to Be
a Good Boss”: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Boss
“7 Unusual
Things Great Bosses Do”: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/7-unusual-things-great-bosses-do.html
“10 Things
Great Bosses Do”: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57444143/10-things-great-bosses-do/
“17 Signs
That You’re a Great Boss”: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/17-signs-that-you-are-a-great-boss-1/
Until next
time…
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