In a world full of bad boss horror stories, how do you rise above, and be one that employees love and admire? A successful leader is not just someone who’s good at what he does, and one who leads with integrity. He’s also someone who creates healthy relationships, particularly with those who work for him.
So how does one become a good boss? According to Entrepreneur Magazine, here are some tips so your team will love and respect you:
- Don’t treat people like transactions. Think carefully about the way you name and refer to your employees. You should focus on reciprocity, helping them achieve their personal and professional goals while working to attain yours. One way to do it is by making them feel they work WITH you, not for you. This way, they’ll feel like they’re collaborating with you, instead of being owned by you.
- Invest in people you value. The true test of how much you value a relationship is how much time, interest and support you are willingly dedicating to it. You can try this: identify the potential in an employee that he or she has yet to recognize. Help them realize their strengths, and help develop them.
- Get involved, but with limitations. Make it a point to ‘check in’ with your employees each day. This means listening to them intently, and finding necessary information to help them work better. Identify their work-related frustrations, the opportunities they found, and assess their energy and commitment to work. It’s important to give people the freedom to achieve the best results in their own way. Try not to micromanage them.
- Show some gratitude. Recognize when your people did a good job to boost their morale. Another way to show some appreciation is by sharing the positive feedback a client had about their work output. You will connect with people more deeply when you recognize the best in them.
Becoming a good boss doesn’t happen overnight. It’ll take time, practice, and admittedly, some mistakes to be a better boss than you were yesterday. However, making the effort will be worth it in the long run as your company will flourish with a happy and well-balanced team.
