Tips on being a good Boss – Part 2

Last week, we began discussing tips on how you can be regarded as a good boss. We are looking at a good boss as one who gets results but not at the expense of making people suffer unnecessarily or hate the boss. Of course, a good boss may exert pressure and demand high standards from his subordinates from time to time.

Managing people and their emotions is a key component of being a good boss. We discussed the first five tips for being a good boss last week: clear vision, clear communication, clear prioritisation of actions and projects, empowerment and trust. Today we continue with the remaining five of the key tips.

Recognition: A good boss will recognise his or her staff when they do well. This does not have to always be in monetary or other material sense. It can be simple gestures like a congratulatory email, or a card or even just by word. The key thing is that you make the recognition visible to others. Bad bosses never recognise their staff. Some bosses recognise their staff in private only. In fact, it is said that a good boss rebukes his or her staff in private and praises them in public. If you want to be a good boss, you need to practice this cardinal rule for good bosses.

Coaching: A good boss will coach his or her staff so that they can continuously become better. The coaching includes helping them to grow as professionals but also helping the subordinates on how best to align with the boss. Bad bosses rebuke their subordinates without demonstrating how differently they want their staff to execute their jobs or to serve them. If you are a good boss, you will always help your subordinates to grow.

Development: A good boss knows that as long as he or she puts the continuous professional development of his staff as a priority, his subordinates will serve his with total loyalty, dedication and commitment. When you find good opportunities for development for your staff, connect them, offer them, nominate them, recommend them and help them grab those rare opportunities. Some of these opportunities do not cost anything. In fact, sometimes it is a matter of sharing ideas for professional development and you will be amazed how much some of your subordinates will be prepared to even spend their money or effort to take on the good professional development opportunities that you recommend to them.

Protection: In the 10 to 13 years that I have worked, I have had approximately ten bosses, sometimes two at a time in matrix arrangements. The bosses I remember and respect most are those that made me feel safe working for them. They offered me protection and that enabled me to trust them. I mean bosses that when they spoke, I was able to act based on their word. There are some bosses who may turn against you tomorrow—you can only take their word when it is through a pen on paper! If you are a boss like that, you surely need to change. Be a boss that will do your best to protect your subordinates from attacks and blame, from abuse and overload and so on. In public be with your staff as much as you can. In private coach and build them. Of course, your staff should be aware that you will not shield them for crime or fraud or any crazy dealings. The line must be drawn and very clearly.

Opportunities: A good boss creates opportunities for deserving team members. In fact, I personally like this one. I use it as a chief motivator and I am transparent about it. All people that have worked in my teams know that I like to create opportunities for those that work hard, deliver results in time, have a great attitude and support my vision and my goals. Best aligned staff get rewarded—that is a clear rule I practice. All team members have a choice to belong to my club or outside.

Good luck as you practice ten of the tips on being a good boss. This way, you will continue to rise and shine!