What Makes a Good Boss?

(Note: This article appeared on The Straits Times on 5 May 2015 page 18, you can also read this at here)

Are you a good boss?  Given a chance, would your employees want to work for you?  Most importantly, are you able to make people better than themselves, or make people better for just yourself?  

Make no mistake: the best bosses could also be bad bosses at times.  The key to being a good boss is how to Be the best, and learn from the Worst.  Taken from our all-time best-seller new course How to Be a Great Boss and books from Robert I Sutton, there are 5 things that you have to do:

1. Don't Crush the Bird.  Managing people is like holding a bird in your hand.  If you hold it too tightly, you'll kill it. But if you let loose, you'll lose it.  Indeed managers that are too aggressive will damage relationships and managers that are too passive and not assertive enough will get people climb over their heads.  Like salt in a dish, too much will overwhelm the dish; too little is similarly distracting; but just the right amount of salt will leave an unforgettable experience. That's why sometimes it's best to leave people alone, no management could be best management
2. Grit, not Greed, Gets You There.  The best bosses think and run like they're running a marathon, not a sprint. That's why perseverance, not just persistence, will deliver you results over the long term.  Gritty bosses are driven by the nagging conviction that good can be better, and they're never satisfied with with 'good enough'.  But how does such a strong conviction make the team do better and not stress them out?  Look at the next point...
3. Small Wins Lay the Path for More Wins.  Having long-term goals, and doggedly working toward them day after day, is a hallmark of gritty bosses.  Big, hairy, audacious goals set the direction and energize people, but if you only have such big goals, you are merely a tyrant and will tire your people out easily.  What makes people able to move on despite difficulties is the feeling of victories, and small, periodic wins definitely out-win big end-of-period wins. The best bosses break down problems into bite-sized pieces and inspire people to achieve them without much difficulty.  Doing so instils confidence and equanimity, and spurs immediate action.  
4. Beware of the Toxic tandem, where bosses because of their power becoming over-bearing and watch over every little step of their employees.  Doing so will reduce your people to merely robots, they will naturally 'out-perform' when you're there, and once you are absent, they will not only not perform, they will actually make severe mistakes that you may never recover. They called this the poisonous toxic that create cancers in your team!
5. Love Them or Lose Them.  Great bosses see their job as getting on peoples' backs and protecting people's greatest asset: their self-esteem.  They care and love their team, but never get into any loving affection.  The 4 ways to professionally love people at work are equanimity, kindness, empathy and joy. Grab the hidden details at here.

By Andy Ng, the creator of How to Be a Great Boss course, where the next run is confirmed on 14 May 2015 Thursday 2 to 5.30 pm.  Limited to 15 seats, so register at here or call 6225-1784 or text to 8201-4347 if you want to run this course in-house at no extra cost. For course listing, visit here.  Related articles:

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• The Solutions to 'Bosses Are the Problems' problem
• We are not monkeys, don't subject us to wild swings
• 3 Smart Switch steps to Transfer Learning from Boss to Staff
• The Most important element in Any Training
• Becoming a Better Boss in 4 Weeks

HOW TO BE A GREAT BOSS 

NOW YOU CAN PRODUCE GREAT RESULTS AND BEING GREAT

 

Date   :  14 May 2015 Thursday 9 am to 12.30 pm

Venue : The Plaza #02-346, 7500A Beach Rd (inside Parkroyal Hotel building)   

 

Investment :1 pax s$298.00 ; 2 pax & above each is s$199.00 ; 5 pax & above each is s$149.00

 

You are a boss, department manager, supervisor or going to be one of the above.

You know that to produce great results, you cannot be doing the old things that old bosses do: boss people around or do not have balls to tell people off.

As we know, greatness comes from inside: you need to be a Great Person, then you will do Great Things and get Great Results.

How to be a Tough but not Terrible Boss? How to be Nice to People and not Let them Climb over your head? Are there ways that any leader or manager can do to increase their results (or profits) without causing hardships?

Whether you are new or old in business, a big boss or a small boss, if you too want to get more results, this is just one course that you have to attend.

Note: PIC Bonus (Productivity and Innovation Credit) 60% Grant is available for this course. Call Idah at 6225-1784 to find out how.

POWER-PACKED CONTENTS INCLUDE:

1. The top 5 Fatal Mistakes that Bosses Make and How You Can Avoid them
2. Becoming a MINDFUL Boss: What it Takes in 7 Ways
3. First Engage your people then Drive them hard (and how)
4. Teaching your employees to be Great Employees: the top 5 Ways
5. Dealing with Difficult Employees and Under-Performers
6. How to Be Tough but not Terrible: the top 10 Ways
7. The 5 Essentials: Dealing with Team Disappointments, Handling Your Own Mistakes, Coping with Conflicting Interests and Handling Stress
8. Daily, Weekly and Monthly Routines to Make Bosses Great
9. The Ultimate in Being a Great Boss: Make People better than themselves

Bonus 1: Your case studies

Bonus 2: FREE book - Turning Ideas into Gold- worth $54 when you register 3 pax