Two Questions for Bosses
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Recently the New York Times published "How Good a Boss Are You?" The Wall Street Journal came at the issue differently with "Five Signs You're a Bad Boss." These are good articles, well worth reading, but let me suggest a simple way to figure out how you rate as a boss.
Ask yourself: "Do I enjoy helping my team and my team members succeed?"
If the answer is "no," you're probably a bad boss and you may want to find something else to do. Helping the team and the team members succeed is what your job is all about and if you don't enjoy it, the odds go way up that you do a lousy job.
I've been researching what separates good bosses from bad ones for decades. I've trained hundreds of bosses in how to do their job well. There are lots of techniques we can teach you to handle the core tasks of the job, but we can't teach you to like helping others succeed.
Helping the team succeed means concentrating on the important things, keeping everyone focused on the key job and making sure the work gets done. Helping team members succeed means spending a large chunk of your day helping them grow and develop and giving them the freedom to learn from the inevitable mistakes.
You can learn to do this and once you've got it, you'll never go back to your old ways. But it's not something anyone can teach you.
Boss's Bottom Line
Check yourself. Do like helping the team and the team members succeed? If
not, what should you start doing to make it happen?
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
Excellent way to boil it down to just one significant question. Everything in management/supervision hangs on whether you even WANT to help others win.
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Well said, Kirk.
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Right. If you don't enjoy helping your team succeed then your not doing a very good job. A boss should be a mentor to their employees. This will help them grow and shape into a team they can be proud of, which also reflects well on the boss. A good boss would also recognize employees for a job well done.
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Good points, Kristin. I think that too often we talk about helping the team succeed and leave out the part about helping the team members succeed.
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I believe the biggest problem is that many bosses have no idea that they are bad because they have inadequate listen skills. They feel the need to talk and tell their employees how it is instead of listening to the employees that have to live with how it really is.
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I think you're correct, Peter. Since we don't do a good job of selecting people who may be good at the boss's job and then we don't train them or provide much support, it's hardly a surprise that many bosses don't do well. I think it's actually amazing that so many figure things out on their own and do well. Thanks for commenting.
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Wally, I think your right. You need to check yourself. You need to ask that exact question and if the answer is no, then why are you a boss in the first place. Personally, I like helping my team out and I want them to succeed. So I think that's it, if you want to help your team then you can be a good boss. Otherwise you may want to reconsider your occupation. Thanks for the comment.
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Thanks, Amber. I think one of the real tragedies is the number of people in boss jobs who don't like the job and aren't good at it. They're usually there because it's the only kind of "promotion" available.
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The uniqueness of your article is indeed something that is influential in nature if probed deeply, it eventually got connected to leadership and I realized it in my instincts. Thanks for sharing it in such a delightful manner..!
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Thank you for your kind words.
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I think that a good boss is a person which appreciates the team and understands her problems.
He can do this only if he passed through them. If he studied only at faculty it has little chances to be a good boss. Sometimes, too much school is not good.
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Thanks for your comment. One thing that's definitely true is that you learn most about being a boss on the job. But classes and coaching and reflection can make that learning more effective and faster.
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Great post Wally. I think you’ve put it in a nutshell. One problem I think many companies have is that they promote the best in the division to be the boss….this may not be the best person to be a boss. Not everyone who it great at something can helps others be great at that thing too.
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I think that's true Dana. Moving from individual contributor to boss is, in many ways, a lot more like a career change than like a succession in the same job. Thanks for commenting.
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Hello,
I just started my own blog called Boss from Hell, I've interviewed 12 people so far and have just published the first story today.
It amazes me what people get away with being a boss but also what people put up with! Is any job worth.
I think a good boss should encourage creativity and growth in an individual. Recognise and reward hard work and aptitude. Treat people with respect and in turn are respected themselves. No, I didn't get that from a book
Liam
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Well said, Liam. Good luck with your blog.
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