Seven Tips For Becoming A Better Boss

Friday, October 24, 2014

Lea McLeod, GoLocalPDX Careers Expert

Photo credit: iStock

According to the 2014 Conference Board CEO Challenge,“Building a culture that supports engagement, employee training, leadership development, and high performance is something companies can control, and can mean the difference between growing market share and simply surviving in 2014.”

But that lofty statement includes more than just the CEO’s effort. That means managers – at every level – have got to build some intention around how to better stimulate and engage teams on the front line. It’s widely known that employees leave managers, not organizations.

That speaks to the obligation managers have to create functional relationships with employees that help to build the engagement factor, thus reducing the attrition factor (and cost). Here are seven tips to becoming a better manager:

1. Develop A Sense Of Self-Awareness As A Manager

Leadership, and management, begins with knowing how you show up in the world. The first step in becoming better as a manager is to become more aware of yourself, your style, and how you work with others.

Solution:

Take a quick assessment to understand:

What is your management style?
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a manager?
Do your employees know what is expected of them?
Do you delegate and oversee work effectively, without micro managing?
Are your meetings effective and productive?

These types of reflective questions, as well as other emotional intelligence and typology indicators help you understand your profile as a leader. Great leaders know themselves, and how they show up in the world.

2. Surveys are fine, but try having a conversation with them

Most clients I work with are uncomfortable talking with their manager about issues in the workplace. Often, they would rather quit their job than deal with that conversation. Do you create an environment where employees feel comfortable coming to you with uncomfortable conversations?

Solution:

Break down the barriers by holding regular meetings in which employees can offer ideas and ask questions. Have an open-door policy that encourages employees to speak frankly with their managers without fear of repercussion. In short, forget the “employee engagement” surveys, have a conversation.

3. Build and cultivate trust

Without trust your team cannot learn. Without trust it is not OK for them to say, “I don’t know,” “I have an issue,” or “I trust you back.” They will not be able to learn what they don’t know, or feel comfortable pointing out a huge mistake you might be considering.

Solution:

Use these tips on building trust:

Be consistent. Say what you do, do what you say. Treat everyone respectfully and differentiate only when performance demands that you should.
Be open to being wrong, or not having every answer. And then be willing to find it.
Make sure employees know you are “for” them. Too many clients are thinking, “My boss is out to get me.” If you have an issue, be clear and honest about what is it, and how you will tackle it together. Tell them how they make the team, and the organization, better.
Meet them where they are; don’t talk down to them; don’t talk over their heads. Realize that not everyone has your expertise, background, or work style.
Don’t put lipstick on bad news. When there’s bad news, acknowledge the reality and keep moving forward.

4. Employees want a sense of community

Help them build one. Without community, employees lack one of the key motivators that we know engages people in the workplace: The sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves.

Solution:

Don’t underestimate the value of having fun, whether it’s team lunches or off site activities. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. By getting to know people more personally, you’ll learn more about how to work effectively with them professionally.

5. Make sure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined

One of the biggest issues employees have when we talk about engagement is the lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities. It’s essential to show everyone how they are expected to contribute to the team. It’s also essential that they know how they fit into the work that others are doing.

Solution:

Articulate clear goals, milestones, and deliverables. Be specific and ensure that any ambiguity in the system is clarified. You must give people timely, regular, and fresh feedback so they know how they are doing, and where they must improve.

6. Recognize them, in ways they want to be recognized

Employees need to be recognized when they are doing well; when their contributions are having an impact. It doesn’t necessarily mean people are praise junkies. But it IS about creating a sense of meaning in the work they do every day. We all want to know that what we do matters. Recognition is one way to share that.

Solution:

Include recognition as part of your one on one and group communications. It’s more than telling people “Great Job” on something, though. It’s also about connecting that great job to the bigger picture. That means sharing how people have impact on the organization. And, sharing it in a way that’s important to them. Not sure what is meaningful recognition? Ask them!

7. Water, fertilize and grow them

The ability to get better at what we do and develop a sense of mastery, is a key driver for employee engagement. People want to become better at what they do. Often, the ability to develop new skills elsewhere will inspire them to leave the organizations.

Solution:

Provide development opportunities, coaching and technical training in situations where people have the capacity and desire to develop. Include this as part of your performance management expectation. With the glut of online courses, self-paced instruction and numerous other learning modalities, development no longer has to be an expensive or complicated endeavor. By giving people a chance to leverage these new skills in the workplace, you feed them the nourishment of learning, while engaging them with the mission at hand.

As a manager, the way you work with employees is a huge determination in your success, and that of your people. Develop your sense ofself-awareness, have a conversation with them, build trust, build community, and make sure expectations are crystal clear. Your people will love you for it!

Lea McLeod, M.A. coaches professionals to get more done, be more confident and deal with workplace issues like challenging bosses and overwhelming workloads. Her career insights have been featured in numerous publications, including Forbes, Mashable, Yahoo, and Business Insider. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Follow her on Twitter. If you’re ready to take action, get started with her free 21 Days to Peace at Work e-series.