Whether you are a newly appointed boss or you have been in this position for a long time, it is important for you to aspire to be better at what you do. People think that being at the helm is a glamorous job. Well, there is no doubt about that. However, it can also be stressful and very difficult.
In fact, quite a number of people cannot handle the stress and the demands of being a boss. They end up losing good employees and a huge chunk of their customers mainly because of their inefficiencies and lack of management skills.
Here is a list of effective ways to help you become better in being a boss:
1. Improve your Skills
In order to be a great boss, you need to equip yourself with appropriate skills. If you do not have supervisory experience, you may want to attend management seminars and other training programs that will help you become an effective manager, supervisor or boss.
2. Study the Company’s Vision and Mission
You do not want to end up scratching your head when some new employee asks you about the company’s background, mission and vision. If you want to contribute to the achievement of that vision and mission, you have to know them first.
3. Educate Your People about Company Policies and Goals
You should also remember to know the goals and policies of your organization. Once you have learned these things, impart them to your subordinates so that they will be on the same page as you.
4. Lead by Example
You cannot expect people to follow and respect you if you do not lead by example. If you want your team to be active and hardworking, you need to show them that you are also doing your share in making your team or department achieve its objectives. It is embarrassing to reprimand someone for sleeping on the job if you are also seen by your subordinates doing the same thing.
5. Make Your Expectations Clear
In order to minimize confusions and misunderstanding, be clear with what you expect from your employees. If you have to meet each member of the team to send the message across, do not hesitate to do so.
6. Set High Standards
A lot of bosses are afraid to set high standards for their employees because they actually do not have confidence in their subordinates. Do not be like these bosses. From the beginning, impress upon your team that you will accept nothing but the best.
7. Set Goals That Are Achievable
It is all right to expect the best from your employees, but be sure to make realistic goals. For example, a 30% to 50% increase in sales may be reasonable. Unless you came from a 70% slump, asking for a 100% turnaround in a month may be unachievable.
8. Spend Some Time to Listen
Be sure to take some time to listen to your subordinates. They too can come up with great ideas and solutions. Do not shut other people out even if they may give weird suggestions. If you really think that the ideas and suggestions are far out and impossible, take some time to think about them. You can never tell if a proposal will not have any merit.
9. Don’t Keep Your Employees in the Dark
It is worth stressing that it is important for your subordinates to have idea on the state of the company and other things that you think they need to know to help them perform their job well.
10. Don’t Forget the ABCs of Supervision
Mentoring, checking up on your employees, asking your subordinates about their expectations are just some of the basics of supervision that you should never forget, even if you are already at the helm.
11. Regularly Check Performance and Expectations
Employees sometime slack off when they realize that the management does not check their performance or if their boss is not really good at making evaluations. To prevent this, make sure that you keep a regular performance and expectation evaluation.
12. Be Sure to Offer Positive Feedback
There will surely be instances when your subordinates or team members will commit mistakes or submit work that does not meet your expectation. Instead of scolding and reprimanding your subordinate in front of other people, do it inside your office or room. Also, make sure that you provide positive feedback instead of negative criticisms.
13. Stress the Importance of Meeting the Company Goals
You need to let your people know the importance of meeting or even surpassing company goals and objectives. Let them know how their work affects the overall productivity and revenue of the company. This will surely give them a sense of ownership in their work.
14. Learn To Strategically Use Positive Reinforcement
Try to avoid showering employees with praise to the point of being excessive. For one thing, it can come as a shock should you have to impart criticism at some point if your workers have become “spoiled.” Make it so your positive reinforcement is heard, appreciated and is motivation for greater productivity.
15. Include Your Team When Making Plans
Brainstorming and regular team meetings are good because these allow everyone to be involved in planning and setting of company goals and programs.
16. Be Firm and Consistent
In order to make your subordinates know that you are serious, you should be firm and consistent with applying policies, especially when reprimanding negative behavior.
17. Encourage Your People to be the Best They Can Be
Motivate employees to do their best. Do not be afraid or feel threatened if someone in your group performs better than other members of the team.
18. Offer Ways for Skill Enhancements
To equip your subordinates with what they need to do their job well, give them ample skills training to make them good at what they do.
19. Give Your Employees Something to Look Forward To
Lunch outs, parties, out-of-town team building activities, and other non-office related activities can surely make a ho-hum work environment more exciting.
20. Learn to Trust Your People’s Abilities
Do not spoon feed your subordinates. Let them approach things and problems in their own way. Trust them to perform their jobs effectively and creatively.
21. Delegate Responsibilities
Again, you are not the only person who can do the job. Learn to delegate responsibilities to others. Delegation will also help you focus more on managerial stuff.
22. Provide Self Development Training Courses
Training programs that are not necessarily connected to the job, such as time management, stress management, and writing business letters effectively are essential in making your team members better skilled.
23. Manage Your Time and Resources Carefully
A good manager knows how to spend time and resources wisely.
24. Hire the Best
Don’t be afraid to hire people smarter than you. They are assets to your team and company.
25. Teach Team Members How to Manage Stress Well
Stress can affect the efficiency and performance of each employee. As a good boss, you need to help your subordinates manage stress well.
26. Be Involved
Do not stay in your ivory tower. Get involved with your team, even if you have to get your hands dirty.
27. Socialize with Your Team
Learn to socialize, talk, exchange news and ask about the personal lives of your team members. It would also be a good idea to know the birthdays of each of them so that you can greet them on their special days.
28. Be Sensitive to Other People’s Needs
Employees are not usually vocal and open about their needs. As a good leader, you should be able to anticipate what your team might need to do the job well.
29. Encourage Your Team to Be Creative
Open your mind and encourage other people to provide creative inputs and suggestions.
30. Apply Other People’s Inputs
Getting the suggestions of others is one thing, but applying them to the operations of the company or your team can really motivate your people.
31. Be Available
Don’t hide inside your office. Open your door and make yourself available to your team.
32. Learn From Others
You don’t know everything, so be willing to learn from other people too, even if they are your subordinates.
33. Learn From History
Don’t commit the same mistakes twice. Learn to make the most of your past mistakes.
34. Respect Other People’s Beliefs and Ideas
Do not judge other people based on their personalities. Be open-minded.
35. Don’t Breathe On Other People’s Necks
If there is one thing that employees hate, it is a boss who does not give his subordinates the free hand to perform their jobs. The members of your team are not robots, so don’t expect them to do things the way that you do.
36. Don’t Get Involved With Gossips
Believe it or not, men also love gossips. But if you are a boss, do not participate in gossiping. In fact, these things should be discouraged in the office altogether.
37. Learn New Skills
You also need to improve your skills. If you still do not know how to use the Internet, it is high time that you start learning.
38. Encourage Other People to Learn New Skills
Making training programs available is one thing. You should also encourage your subordinates to learn new skills.
39. Show Genuine Concern for Your Employees
Know how to sympathize and show concern for others.
40. Keep Positive Attitude
Positive attitude is infectious, so try to spread it to your team.
41. Maintain Good Working Environment
Based on surveys, employees value safe and good working conditions. In fact, many say that their top reason for staying with a company is the work environment.
42. Be Accountable
Do not blame others for your mistakes. Take responsibility for your actions and decisions.
43. Learn to Say No
You should not be a people pleaser to be a good boss. In fact, you need to learn how to say no too.
44. Promote Other People’s Ideas
Not all good ideas should come from you. It would really be a good thing to market and promote other people’s ideas as well.
45. Be Open to Change
Change is inevitable so you need to be open-minded when it comes to new technology and ways of doing things.
46. Ensure Good Working Relationships Within Your Team
Encourage your team members to respect each other and maintain a good working relationship with everyone. Resolve problems and bickering quickly and fairly.
47. Know When to Have Fun and When to be Serious
Strike a balance between being a fun loving boss and a serious one. Being serious all the time can dampen spirits, while always having fun and lax on policies can make your team slack and ineffective.
48. Don’t Be a Parasite
Do not do things that can taint your reputation. Be wary of accepting gifts from suppliers or favors from customers.
49. Be Ready To Help
A good boss knows when to offer a helping hand to his subordinates.
50. Value Time
If you want your employees to value your time, be sure to value theirs as well. Don’t keep them waiting for hours during meetings.
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