You’re finally a boss! Years of hard work and preparation have allowed you to become a manager! Now, you’re eager to know what it takes to succeed as a manager. You want to be a good boss!
I’ve been a manager for about a decade now. And, while I’ve my ups and downs as a manager, I do think I am a good boss. Most of the people who have worked for me got promoted or a bigger scope when they moved off my team. Whenever I have an open position, quite a few people apply. I was even awarded a “Manager of the Year” title at my company.
So, what’s the secret?
I’ll tell you here…
7 Tips to Being A Good Boss
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Be lazy
What do I mean by “Be Lazy?”
By this I mean, give them some of YOUR work to do. Also known as delegating. If someone on your team wants to grow their skills, then taking on some of your work is a great way to do that.
Over the years, I have delegated things such as budget management, writing status reports, and project management. I’ve found that the employees appreciate a new challenge, and the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to do the type of work that managers typically do.
AND — better yet — I wouldn’t have to do that work. By being lazy and delegating my responsibilities, I supported the growth of my direct reports.
2. Be successful yourself!
Employees want more than a good boss who gives them opportunities. They want to work for a successful manager; they want to work for someone who they look up to, and from whom they feel they could learn a lot. If your employees think you are useless and your career is going nowhere, they will jump ship.
If you delegate a lot, then you should be able to free some time so you can explore growth opportunities for yourself, which will inspire your team.
3. Recognition
Recognize and reward your employees for their hard work and superior business outcomes. As the manager, you may get some of the recognition for their achievements. Be sure that you’re clear that it was your employee’s work, not your own.
It’s the kiss of death for a manager to keep all the kudos for themselves. First, it will demotivate your direct reports. Also, if you’re taking credit for doing the work, then you’re not doing your own job (which is managing the work).
Honestly, I struggle to remember to officially recognize my direct reports. In order to remember, I schedule 15 minutes on my calendar every Friday. During that time, I review what each person did in the last week and recognize their achievements (via email or in-person).
4. Let people fail
As a manager, it can be hard to sit back while your direct reports struggle or, even, fail. It’s much like being a parent, and you don’t want your child to fall and get scraped. However, if we don’t let employees figure things out for themselves, then our employees will never learn how to succeed on their own. That will ultimately make them frustrated. On top of that, you will get sucked into everything they do because they never learned to do things for themselves.
You need to let your employees try things on their own, even if it’s painful to watch. Your job as a manager is to create the right experiences so they struggle — and subsequently, learn — but not where they have career-ending mistakes. Aim for “scratches, not scars.”
5. Balance feedback with acceptance
In order to be an effective manager, you need to give feedback to your employees on their performance. While that’s core to the job, how to do that is difficult. You want to avoid being nit-picky. You need to realize that your direct reports may have different ways of doing things than you do. They have different thought processes and approaches. You need to respect and accept their differences, but still, provide them feedback on how to improve.
6. Build an effective team
As a manager, you likely will have dedicated time with each employee. Don’t focus so much on individuals that you miss building a positive team environment. Not only does a team environment make work more fun for your employees, but you’ll also find that employees will start seeking help from each other (instead of you). In other words, they’ll help each other…so you can be lazy!
7. Take care of yourself
You know how airline stewardesses always tell you to put your oxygen mask on first, before your children’s? The reason is that — if you pass out from lack of oxygen — then you are no use to your child; you need to ensure you are getting your oxygen needs first so that you can make sure your child’s needs are then met.
It’s the same for managers. You cannot support your direct reports if you are tired, run-down, and sick. You need to take of your needs so you are in the right mindset to give others the support and guidance they need.
Being a manager is the toughest job I’ve had. I know it can seem easy because, usually, the employees are the ones doing the actual work. But the boss is dealing with a lot of intangible things that make the individual able to thrive at their work. This work is often complicated, political, and tough to navigate. A boss’ work often goes unseen, and — frankly — unappreciated. I didn’t really appreciate any boss I had, until after I became one. It’s a stressful job and one that you should take seriously, but be kind to yourself along the way. There’s a lot to learn, so give yourself time to grow. If you care about your direct report and their success, then that’s half of it. Actually getting there will happen over time!
What do you think makes a good boss? Let me know in the comments below.
If you liked this post, check these out:
- How to Overcome the 5 Biggest Career Killers
- 3 Behaviors That Will Ensure You Get Promoted
- Why Am I Not Getting Promoted?
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