Trust. You trust your team members and they trust you. If you have achieved this, congratulations, you’re a great boss. If not, here are some hints on how to achieve this.
1. Persevere
If you fantasize about ruling over other people and making your own little corporate kingdom, let me break down the first years of being a boss to you: 60% failure, 40% pain. You will learn by doing. And you’ll be doing a lot. More than what what can be compensated by the pay increase (if any). You will fail a lot and you will continue to fail until you learn the lesson. No book, no advice will soften the blow. You are alone in the classroom for this one. This is how great bosses are made and there are no shortcuts.
2. Be fair
This goes for both parties: manager and employee. What you ask and what you offer must balance. Did you ask for something after working hours? Compensate. As an employee, did you take some time off to solve some personal matters? Put in extra effort to deliver something on time or help the team in a crunch.
3. Read and reply to e-mails
“Yes”, “No” and “I don’t care” are all valid answers. “Let me get back to you”, then ghosting is not. You won’t believe how much this matters. It’s a top 3 for most team members and this one is so easily addressed. A lack of reply delivers a strong message.
4. Show respect to earn respect
Use manners. Say good morning, please, thank you, have a good day. Show up on time and don’t prolong meetings. Be the example you wish to set for the team. Also refer to #2 and #3.
5. Empower
If possible, allow team members to choose their tasks and how they want it solved. Hear them out in 1:1. Understand and support their career path, but know that ultimately your help should be limited and their career is their own responsibility. Be happy when they leave for a better opportunity. Their success is your success and their success is also your reward.
6. Listen
You don’t need an echo chamber, you need a blindspot checker. Make it a safe space for the team to bring their unpopular opinions and consider them. You can do this by avoiding statements such as “don’t come to me with problems, come with solutions, “prove it to me” as well as other last-century statements. Refer to point #2: are your decisions always fact-based? Do you offer solutions to every problem you bring to the team? Have you reached ultimate business understanding or do you aim to be a little bit better than the person you were yesterday?
7. Communicate
If a genie could grant you a single wish, one skill to be instantly bestowed upon you as a manager, choose communication. Make sure your team members find out first and foremost from you. Don’t assume that “it’s a know fact”. This forces them to turn to gossip to find out the latest news and will make you wonder why people gossip.
8. Take breaks
Resilience isn’t how you endure, it’s how you recharge. You have to put your own life jacket on first before helping others. As a manager, quiet time to strategize (or ask yourself where you’re going) is essential. You don’t even need to have well-defined questions in mind. Just by creating space, you will gain more clarity and come up with more ideas than in a formal brainstorming session.
9. People ARE results
Great bosses understand that there isn’t a dichotomy between people and results. The latter is a consequence of the former. The relationship between team members is the most important relationship in your team, especially if it’s a small one. Nurture these and don’t promote unhealthy competition — it’s petty and it only works short-term.
10. Learn how to deal with strong feelings
Unless you’re really lucky, you will have team members that resent or even hate you. And you may resent them back. Learn to identify these feelings and how to address them. People will take things personally, especially if you mismanage these tensions and they escalate. If you don’t already have one, use the services of a good psychotherapist. Few investments have better returns than therapy.
There you go, ten (not so) easy steps to becoming the best boss ever. Are you a great boss? Do you agree with any of these? What did I miss?
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