You’ve had one, a boss who was really great. One who helped you excel.
You’ve probably had at least one boss who was not great, or even terrible.
I found an interesting article on 12 Things Good Bosses Believe. Robert Sutton writes in the HBR blog about his studies of the habits of good bosses. Among the list of the 12 things:
- I have a flawed and incomplete understanding of what it feels like to work for me.
- One of the most important, and most difficult, parts of my job is to strike the delicate balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough.
- My job is to serve as a human shield, to protect my people from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every stripe — and to avoid imposing my own idiocy on them as well.
- I aim to fight as if I am right, and listen as if I am wrong — and to teach my people to do the same thing.
- One of the best tests of my leadership — and my organization — is “what happens after people make a mistake?”
- How I do things is as important as what I do.
(Read the rest of Sutton’s article and ‘things’ here.)
I tie this to my handful of actions for good leadership:
- Appreciate, Don’t Demean — simple words of appreciation gain respect and openness from others.
- Give Credit, Take Blame — acknowledging another’s contributions, regardless of how small, gives meaning to the individual.
- Listen More, Speak Less — withholding comment and asking questions allows expression and learning and creates confidence in the other.
- Affirm Your Commitment — letting others know you are committed to their success gives them hope.
- Give the Minimal Help Necessary — giving only the minimum help necessary sends the message you trust others and have confidence in their abilities.
What have you seen as habits or traits of good bosses?
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