What makes a boss

Gosnell recommends treating your employees with thoughtfulness. A good leader conducts their decision-making process based on the best interests of the team as well as the company. Leaders should also incorporate good communication by listening to their teams. Gosnell said a listening leader will hear how to make an organization better through the words of their team. Whether you see yourself as a boss or a leader, Andrews said, the key to your success is your staff seeing you as fair in your approach toward them.

Set fair, clear employee expectations and be consistent in your manners so your staff knows what they can expect from you. However, effective communication and a clear goal will ensure that teams all pull in the same direction. Team leaders are responsible for more than just delegating tasks and monitoring employees.

They are responsible for the success of the whole team as well as the success of each individual team member. An effective team leader should understand each member's strengths, weaknesses, and goals and utilize their talents accordingly. Eisinger created a brief checklist for leaders to refer to when determining their primary responsibilities:.

If you do not currently implement all of these responsibilities into your work duties, don't worry. Just focus on improving, and seek feedback from your team about what you can do better. According to Eisinger, most good leaders start out as bosses. However, it is critical to recognize one's unique challenges and work to overcome them so they can become leaders. What do you think the difference is between a boss and a true leader? Share your thoughts on this topic with the business. Additional reporting by Sammi Caramela.

Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. Skye Schooley. There's a distinction between being just a boss and being a leader. Which one are you? There are many differences between bosses and leaders. Supervisors and managers should consistently analyze their leadership styles to ensure they are successfully leading their teams.

To become a good leader, you should influence, inspire and mentor your team members. There are a few key strategies that every great leader incorporates into their behavior: delegating authority, being thoughtful to team members, facilitating open communication and setting clear employee expectations.

Bosses command; leaders influence. Bosses explain; leaders inspire. A good boss regularly addresses any challenges, deviations, shortcomings and mediocrity in a timely manner and keeps the team moving towards a shared goal. One of the most demotivating things that some bosses do is taking all the credit and either ignoring or forgetting to acknowledge the input, contributions and work of others. A good boss always remembers to acknowledge and recognize the input of subordinates and team members.

It uplifts the spirits of the team when a boss publicly points out the good work and individual contributions that staff have done in making a specific project a success. It also strengthens collaboration and trust among the team. Sharing credit with others does not cost the boss anything yet it has a high return on investment. When good behavior and performance is praised, acknowledged and recognized, it is likely to be repeated.

This can lead to a snowball effect where the employees who have been appreciated keep performing better and better thereby increasing the overall success and contribution of a particular unit, department, division, branch and the overall company.

As a caveat, this does not mean that a boss should go willy-nilly sharing confidential, private and sensitive information with others. A good boss knows how to use tact, discretion and good judgement in deciding which information is public and which should be private. A good boss shares relevant information with staff such as updates on company performance, sales metrics, team progress, challenges facing the company, company success, brainstorming solutions with the team etc.

The boss also shares big picture information with staff, explains changes, shares departmental progress updates etc. The objective is for employees to know what is going on both within their department and in the company. Transparency is a key trait of a good boss. In the absence of information from the boss, subordinates would receive information from the grapevine which might be inaccurate.

If you know something very important, the way to get power is by actually sharing it. Some ways of caring about the well-being of staff include the following: providing good and safe working conditions; enabling career growth for employees; providing monetary rewards such as promotions, pay raises and bonuses. Providing good competitive salaries and benefits; opportunities for professional development and training; challenging work assignments and offering regular feedback and praise.

Other ways of caring about staff consist of valuing staff time by having fewer and relevant meetings; instituting and upholding a company culture with strong shared values and encouraging work life balance. All these actions help to increase job satisfaction and show employees that their boss cares about them. On the flip side, bad bosses are disrespectful. Typical ways of disrespecting employees include yelling, shouting, sulking, losing your temper, bullying, blaming others and not sharing credit.

Other forms of disrespect include: indecision, avoiding conflict, unavailability, playing favorites, hiding relevant information, poor communication, gossiping, insincerity, over-delegation, too many meetings, selective and distracted listening, boss is never wrong attitude and forgetting promises that you had made to staff. A workplace with disrespect is toxic, unproductive and fearful.

Good bosses earn respect from their employees by doing the right things such as holding employees accountable for their job, appreciating and praising subordinates, caring for staff, listening attentively, being available, having empathy, delegation and trust. Empowerment, good working conditions, being decisive, admitting mistakes, sharing credit, common courtesies, pitching in during critical times to help staff and fighting for your employees privileges are all hallmarks of good bosses.

Good bosses know that they cannot do everything alone. They recognize and acknowledge the benefits of delegating work to subordinates. A good boss knows the skills and capabilities of his or her subordinates and knows what tasks to delegate to which staff. Other benefits of delegation include: creating a culture of trust when the boss assigns some of his tasks to a subordinate; it gives employees an opportunity to stretch and grow their capabilities through working on new assignments; employees feel valued and important and this can boost morale.

Good bosses give staff freedom and authority to make decisions within certain tasks and areas of their expertise. This enables employees to fix problems, come up with ideas and suggestions and implement solutions without having to keep going back to the boss or supervisor to ask for permission. This creates a liberating environment where employees can really shine and become top performers within their respective niches. The overall beneficiaries of employee empowerment are the customers who get faster and more top-notch, high quality service.

Employee empowerment can likewise lead to creativity and innovation where the staff figure out better, easier, faster and efficient ways to do their daily processes. Also, I think working for a good boss is a very motivating experience. It makes one work even harder and gives their very best efforts at the workplace while at the same time enjoying your job.

Not everyone knows how to be the boss but successful managers have figured out what it takes to encourage and motivate employees. So what makes a great boss? A great person Jonathan Swift has said, 'Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. For a boss to effectively lead his or her team, they need to have a clear vision of exactly what they want to achieve at work and in which direction their team should be going.

A good boss is one who leads a team in a common and unified direction. A good boss should easily communicate their specific vision to subordinates. The vision ensures focus, alignment, and efficiency.

A boss can communicate the vision through various forums such as group meetings or one-on-one discussions with staff. The objective is to share what needs to be accomplished and why, and then encourage questions from subordinates to ensure that everyone is on the same page. A good boss frequently reminds the team about the vision and regularly measures results against established milestones and targets and course corrects appropriately.

Set clear performance expectations by providing the employee with a very specific job description that lays out all expected tasks that include employee goals. Employees who work for a supportive boss are more likely to be happier; less stressed and have higher work output. The inability to make a decision or letting decision making drag on and on is a trait of a poor boss.

A good boss is one who has an open-door policy and is available for subordinates when they need him or her. Accessibility is critical; it gives you an advantage because employees feel comfortable reaching out and talking to you especially before a problem arises. An approachable boss is trusted more by subordinates and breeds a culture of high morale and greater employee engagement in their work. Subordinates, in turn, feel comfortable sharing with the boss their suggestions, feedback, recommendations, solutions, and ideas that could be valuable for the success of the company.

Employees need constant feedback on how well they are meeting expectations. Help them understand when they are doing a good job and communicate when they are not meeting requirements. This can be achieved by coaching employees on a regular basis. If you see something that they are doing right, mention it.

If you see something that needs to change mention it as soon as you are aware. Often employees do not even realize when they are not meeting requirements. It all starts with the bosses setting high-performance standards for themselves and actively working towards achieving them. Employees get more motivated and inspired upon seeing their boss walking the talk. A good boss both expects and motivates subordinates to produce their best efforts.

After performance goals have been set, the boss expects subordinates to be accountable in reaching the targets. Regular check-ins, evaluations, and performance assessments are conducted along the way to ensure the train is still running on the tracks. A good boss regularly addresses any challenges, deviations, shortcomings, and mediocrity in a timely manner and keeps the team moving towards a shared goal.

One of the most demotivating things that some bosses do is taking all the credit and either ignoring or forgetting to acknowledge the input, contributions, and work of others. A good boss always remembers to acknowledge and recognize the input of subordinates and team members. It uplifts the spirits of the team when a boss publicly points out the good work and individual contributions that staff has done in making a specific project a success.

It also strengthens collaboration and trust among the team. Sharing credit with others does not cost the boss anything yet it has a high return on investment. When good behavior and performance is praised, acknowledged, and recognized, it is likely to be repeated.

This can lead to a snowball effect where the employees who have been appreciated keep performing better and better thereby increasing the overall success and contribution of a particular unit, department, division, branch, and the overall company.

Some ways of caring about the well-being of staff include the following: providing good and safe working conditions; enabling career growth for employees; providing monetary rewards such as promotions, pay raises, and bonuses. Providing good competitive salaries and benefits; opportunities for professional development and training; challenging work assignments and offering regular feedback and praise. Other ways of caring about staff consist of valuing staff time by having fewer and relevant meetings; instituting and upholding a company culture with strong shared values and encouraging work-life balance.

All these actions help to increase job satisfaction and show employees that their boss cares about them. On the flip side, bad bosses are disrespectful. Typical ways of disrespecting employees include yelling, shouting, sulking, losing your temper, bullying, blaming others, and not sharing credit.