What Makes A Good Boss?

I've had good bosses and bad bosses.
I've been a good boss and a bad boss (only in my opinion of course...ha...ha :)
In reading Tony's article
What is a good boss
it reminds me of what I'm doing right and what needs to be worked on.
What did you learn from the bosses you've had.
Thanks Tony!
Ev
BTW: What happened to point number four?

How to be a great boss? Part II. Mentorship Mondays -Lessons on Leadership
by
Tony Jalan

"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor but without folly.” – Jim Rohn

Stop for a moment and think of all the great bosses you have had. What traits made them great? I have asked this question countless of times over the past 15 years. I have heard on what makes a great boss vs a horrible boss.
What traits make bosses great, appreciated and respected? Below are 7 simple characteristics that make a great boss gathered from 100s of interviews.


1. Great bosses have a high SAYDO ratio! What they say they are going to do they do! It was a few years back and someone said, " Here we go again..The idea of the month...My boss reads a book then thinks it's the best thing since slice bread. Why don't we actually DO what we SAY we are going to do before changing things up. It actually may make a difference!"
What is your SAYDO ratio?

2. Great Bosses Praise in Public, Criticize in Private. - Hundreds of interviews and recognition has to be in the top 3 for traits of Great Bosses.

3. Great bosses-Seek first to understand vs seeking first to be understood- One interviewee once said, "My favorite boss was a great listener. I would come to her with an issue and before offering advice she would always ask me for more details about the issue and really try to understand everything before jumping in and giving her two cents. This empowered me! Most of the time I knew the answer. All I had to do was talk it out loud."
Are you reacting to issues or responding to issues?

5. Great bosses don't try to please everyone and make it their mission to be liked.- If you try to please everyone someone is going to be disappointed. Building trust in any organization is vital to its success. You do that everyday. Letting everyone know what is acceptable and what isn't. What values drive your decisions. If your staff believes that your process in making decisions is fair and in black and white they can work through their disappointments and frustrations. What are your Standards of Performance and does your team know what they are?

6.Great bosses want to learn from others and maintain humility-Assuming your employees aren’t smarter than you in countless ways is a big mistake. Asking for their advice, thinking it will make you look weak is not true. It could, in fact, keep you from a blunder. Holding yourself to a different standard of accountability than your staff is a recipe for disaster. Apologizing for a mistake doesn't undercut your standing as a leader. It simply shows that you are HUMAN!
Develop a reputation for responding without a roller coaster of emotions to your employees' mistakes. The way you handle theirs sets a tone for how yours are viewed by them.

7.Great bosses apologize- "I will never forget when my boss apologized for messing up.I nearly fell off my chair!" Always apologize sincerely and specifically when you screw up, publicly and privately. Use the lessons of your own mistakes to help yourself and others grow. Leaders can be more effective when they teach from their failures rather than just their victories.

Your people are your greatest resource; listen to their feedback and encourage their dreams. You never know where your next great idea will come from, your next great leader, so empower everyone up and down throughout your organization to contribute and make a difference.
Hopefully, you have received value from this two part series on " How to be a great boss?". I would love to hear your feedback on other traits that make a boss GREAT!

Thank you for investing your time in reading this post!
Tony Jalan
Developing Leaders one person at a time.