Advice hub. Are you a good boss?
Being a truly good boss means being a leader. While a bad boss may dictate, discipline and be remote, a good leader will inspire, encourage and be an integral part of the team.
Whatever terminology is used to describe you, be it boss, leader or line manager, the way you behave and act will make all the difference between creating a team that is motivated and one that suffers from a lack of staff morale. A highly motivated team will help boost company results and encourage good staff retention.
- Always act with integrity.
- Inspire team members to reach their full potential by stretching high flyers and pointing poor performers in the right direction.
- Engage with staff in a human way and be aware of their physical and mental health.
- Encourage team members to think for themselves and avoid micromanaging.
- Set clear and achievable tasks.
- Be caring towards the team by listening to their thoughts and welcoming their ideas.
- Encourage passion among the team for the job in hand by supporting and guiding staff through specific tasks through gentle persuasion, rather than ruling through fear.
- Be a mentor by steering staff in the right direction and providing them with the opportunity to improve their abilities and grow their experience.
- Identify and recognise the best person for the job, based on ability and not for any personal reasons.
- Build a team by selecting a group of people with different abilities and personalities who will complement one another.
- Welcome feedback, either within an open forum or anonymously via a suggestion box.
- Reward and praise staff when they perform well, both privately and in front of the wider team. Recognising a strong work ethic, commitment and loyalty shows respect and will increase confidence amongst team members.
- Be fair and inclusive and not favour one member of staff over another.
- Be understanding when a problem arises and help staff overcome difficulties.
- Recognise mistakes as a learning opportunity.
- Not shy away from difficult conversations when required.
- Defend the team, if warranted, in difficulties with higher levels of management.
- Provide the right balance between offering positive and honest critical advice.
- Clearly communicate with the team so that its members understand what is expected of them in order to achieve the company’s goals and avoid any misunderstandings.
- Rise above office politics and recognise the need to maintain good relationships with both those in higher management and entry level team members.
- Be open and honest in order to build trust and respect. Where possible, they will share details of the company’s commercial performance, success and failures. The team will respect a boss who is transparent.
- Be approachable so that staff feel comfortable about sharing their problems. They will encourage the team to talk to them at any time, about any subject, no matter how big or small, listen carefully to concern and then act swiftly to resolve any issues.
- Understand the need for a work-life balance and do their best to take on board specific requests to work flexibly. They will lead the way by practising a good work-life balance themselves.
- Encourage career progression by directing and supporting staff towards relevant training courses and possible promotion opportunities.
- Not allow personal difficulties to affect work.
- Have a cheerful and positive approach to work. Creating an engaging, enthusiastic and exciting workplace stems from the top and will permeate throughout the team.
- Make work fun and a place every member of the team looks forward to arriving at every day.
- Provide little or no direction.
- Be poorly organised.
- Keep changing decisions, causing confusion among staff.
- Disregard work-life balance by lacking empathy towards an individual’s personal circumstances.
- Fail to communicate the company’s aims.
- Put barriers in the way to career progression.
- Delegate difficult and unpleasant tasks.
- Over commit the team and fail to recognise the negative impact this may have on the staff.
- Be poor at identifying problems, often by burying their head in the sand when things go wrong.
- Dismiss people’s views and punish them for voicing their views.
- Micromanage staff which will create a lack of trust among the team.
- Make unilateral decisions.
- Allow personal problems to seep into the workplace.
