Be A Better Boss
 By Patrick L. Wynne

If you manage employees and haven’t learned this lesson yet, you will eventually: The growth and success of your small business is directly impacted by the quality of your employees.

And the corollary to this lesson: The quality of your employees is determined primarily by your skills as a manager.

Whether you manage one employee or 10, you can become a better boss by following these guidelines.

Be Accessible
The best bosses have a true open-door policy. This means making sure employees know they are welcome to approach you about anything and at any time (within reason). It also means getting out of your office and spending time interacting with them. This is sometimes referred to as MBWA, or Managing By Walking Around.

Be A Good Communicator
Almost without exception, all great bosses are great communicators.

This includes personal, one-on-one communication with individuals and broader communication with your entire workforce. Strive to keep your communication simple, without jargon or doublespeak.

And give employees your undivided attention when listening to them; don’t act distracted or disinterested.

Praise Regularly
Always look for opportunities to catch your employees doing something right, instead of trying to catch them making a mistake.

Since employees tend to dwell more on negative than positive feedback, try to follow the 7:1 Rule. The rule says to give seven pieces of positive praise for every one piece of negative feedback.

And when correction or criticism is required, offer it constructively, with suggestions for how the employee can improve in the future.

Trust Your Employees
Once your employees have earned your trust, demonstrate this by giving them more responsibility and letting them make more decisions on their own.

You can start slowly, but increase delegation over time as employees grow more comfortable in their roles. Delegation is the most difficult task for many small-business owners to master, but it’s critical to helping employees reach their full potential.

Share Your Vision
As the owner, you should set the strategic vision and direction for your company. But this vision must be shared with all of your employees if they’re going to help you achieve it.

When employees are able to see the big picture and how their jobs fit into it, they’re more likely to be excited, inspired and feel like part of a team that’s working together to reach a common goal.

Lead By Example
Actions will always speak louder than words, so you have to walk the talk.

You must set the example you want your employees to follow in every area of your business, from honesty, integrity and work ethic to how you treat each other and your customers.

Remember that you’re on stage all day, every day. Your employees are likely watching your every move and following your example in what you do, not what you say.

Share The Credit
One of the fastest ways to engender distrust and destroy initiative among your employees is to fail to acknowledge their accomplishments – or worse, to take credit for those accomplishments yourself.

Be willing to share credit and praise generously for employees’ successes and victories. Study after study has shown that public praise is one of the greatest motivators for employees, usually even greater than money.

Be Consistent
People will follow and respect leaders who demonstrate steady, consistent actions and words.

Your employees should reasonably be able to know what to expect from you in any given situation. If your behavior and moods swing wildly from one extreme to another, employees will be less likely to communicate openly and honestly with you.

Be A Coach
Coaching has become a management buzzword, but the concept is simple.

In the same way that the coach of a sports team is responsible for teaching, training, disciplining and encouraging his players to reach their full potential for the good of the team, you should do the same with your employees – so that everyone is working together for the good of your company.

 

(Posted August 2008)

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