How to Be a Good Boss
Bosses determine how people experience work. They help create a workplace culture and climate: joy versus despair, enthusiasm versus complaints, and well-being versus stress. Most bosses want to excel at what they do, yet many lack the requisite mindset that precedes positive action and behavior.
As a boss who strives to do great work, you may need to shift your thinking. The beliefs and assumptions you hold about yourself, your work and your people will determine your actions and ultimate success.
Stanford University management professor Robert I. Sutton, PhD, author of the New York Times bestseller The No Asshole Rule, knows about bosses. He has received thousands of emails about the bad ones since the 2007 publication of that title. In his most recent book, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...and Learn from the Worst (Business Plus, 2010) Sutton focuses on what it takes to be a better boss.
Numerous studies show that people in power tend to become self-centered and oblivious to what their subordinates need, do and say. To compound matters, your staff will carefully scrutinize everything you do and say. These two phenomena merge into what Sutton calls the “toxic tandem.”
Wielding power over others can cause you to:
1. Become more focused on your own needs and wants
2. Become less focused on others’ needs
3. Act as through written and unwritten rules don’t apply to you
This isn’t the case with only a handful of personality types. Most people in power positions will adopt these tendencies; it’s human nature.
Good bosses remain on guard to avoid such power traps. They never forget how closely they are watched by their people, and they resist taking advantage of their position and ignoring others’ needs.
The Questions to Ask Yourself
Power Traps
a. Do you remind yourself that your people are watching you closely?
b. Do you avoid doing little things that undermine their performance and dignity?
c. Do you ignore the little things that could be perceived as overuse of power?
d. Do you realize that everything you say and do will be magnified in your subordinates’ minds?
Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development to grow emotionally intelligent leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders avoid the power trap mindset? Leaders tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to fully engage employees and customers.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I mindful that everything I do and say may be magnified in the minds of subordinates?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for leaders who appropriately use power when working with people.
Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create a culture where all employees are fully engaged. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.
About Dr. Maynard Brusman
Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders. Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.
For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman
Comments