Shanu Singh Guliani

What Makes a Great Boss?
October 26, 2007

Just as it’s important how the employees treat their boss it is equally important how a boss treats their employees. A boss who overworks their staff, criticizes them, and has an unfriendly demeanor will be left standing alone. A boss needs to create a positive and cheerful environment so his/her employees will want to come to work and do their best. Here are some simple tips to being a great boss in addition to the usual skills of motivation, communication, and organization:

1. Great bosses make their staff feel smart. I get presented with all sorts of enthusiastic ideas—yes many are misguided ideas, but when presented in a meeting or in private conversation with a misguided bit of nonsense, you should listen carefully for the tiniest bit of potential usable information. Seizing that tidbit of information, listening to them talk it through—tweaking it until they produce something workable and smart—great bosses understand this transformation instills belief in each staff member and has them walk away beaming.
2. Great bosses know what’s happening around them. Great bosses talk often with managers about how individuals are doing, but also about specifically what they’re doing and give appreciation to individual contributions.
3. Great bosses don’t micromanage. Good bosses delegate and don’t hang around in the background monitoring how that delegation is going. Your staff and sales associates are only human. They will make mistakes.
4. Great bosses retain information. They remember their employees’ hobbies, their spouses’ name, and their birthdays; in turn they will remember you.

Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on October 26, 2007 | Comments (0)