Horrible Bosses Get Horrible Results

Most people have had the unpleasant experience of working for a boss they didn’t get along with. If you’re a great boss, you can make each day pleasant, fulfilling and productive for your staff – but if you’re a horrible boss, you can make your employees hate their job and they will be unlikely to keep the company’s best interests at the forefront of their concerns. If they’re not happy when you are around, chances are they’re going to be far less effective in their jobs than they could be, especially if they’re spending more time worrying about keeping you happy than doing the best job they can

Are you guilty of any of these trademark habits of horrible bosses?

• Taking all of the credit for good work, but passing the blame for mistakes.
• Using fear and threats to manage your employees.
• Resisting change and being more willing to let employees struggle with an onerous task than to consider other solutions.
• Constantly micro-managing or second guessing your employee’s work.
• Being offhand, indecisive or vague about decisions that could affect their jobs… and their lives.

A good boss can manage a workplace and produce effective results. They are seen as the leader, someone who is fair and approachable. However, many managers believe that their main duty is getting the work done and don’t pay much attention to how it gets done. That’s a mindset that’s hard to escape unless you are trained to do so, or you hail from a management background.

But it’s not impossible – and here are some great tips that will help you become a more effective manager.

Delegate wisely

Delegating is one of the main duties of an effective manager. Assign tasks and responsibilities to your employees. Not only will it help develop your employees’ own capabilities, leadership skills and confidence, you are easing your own workload and multiplying the quantity of work that can be accomplished overall. Trying to control every little thing your employees do will lead to disaster every time.

Set reasonable goals

Set goals that your staff will strive to and eventually achieve. Everyone needs a goal to work towards and achieving a goal will make your employees feel good about themselves and their job. A reasonable goal will give your employees purpose and direction and ensure that they are working towards achieving the goals of the company. Negotiate achievable goals and then regularly monitor progress.

Communicate

A manager who doesn’t communicate well can be bad for the organization as well as the staff. Bosses can often serve as the link between top level management and general employees, and a good boss will always make an effort to keep his subordinates in the loop. If employees are kept up to date as to what direction the company is going in and what needs to be done, they’ll perform and contribute far more efficiently.

Make time for your employees

When an employee needs to talk, it’s okay to put your own work on the back-burner momentarily. Give your time and focus to the discussion – it might not seem important to you, but it probably is to your worker. Management is often about facilitating other people’s work – if an employee never gets any guidance, answers or decisions from you, they won’t be able to do their job properly.

Recognize their achievements

Everyone wants to be appreciated and all employees will at some point seek praise or feedback for their work. Your workers will be much happier if you show that you appreciate their efforts. Very few bosses understand this and most don’t put much effort into recognizing and rewarding staff for a task done well.

If you want your employees to have job satisfaction, the occasional pat on the back will do wonders.

Be a good leader

A good leader shares their good qualities with the world and inspires others to behave in a similar way – you should behave in the same way that you would want your employees to behave at work. However, it’s important to remember that you are the boss – your role, workload and work concerns are likely to be different to everybody else’s – so recognise that difference.

Offer solutions

There is a solution to every problem and usually, the buck will stop with you. Try to avoid quick fixes: in your enthusiasm to come up with a quick answer and move on to another task, you may overlook options that take longer to develop but are better long term resolutions. Deal with the root of the problem instead of putting on a band-aid.

Don’t play the blame game

You can’t go blaming everyone on the team for one person’s failure to perform – especially if that failure is yours! It’s easy to point the finger, but your job is to inspire employees so that they exceed all expectations. If you’re looking to blame a mistake on your workers, ask yourself what kind of leadership they had while the mistake was being made.  Again, the buck stops with you.

Play to your employee’s strengths

Mediocre managers often talk about how to improve the weaknesses of their employees. Distinguish yourself by paying special attention to the different strengths and skills of your workers. This will increase their job satisfaction, let them know that their contribution is valuable, and inspire them to be more productive. Try highlighting the strengths of your individual staff – you’ll see positive results very quickly!

Your success as a manager depends on the success of your team. Being a manager is challenging and comes with responsibility. Your worker’s lives and lifestyles are very much entwined with their working day, so you have the power to make them satisfied and happy… or frustrated and miserable. Remember – happy workers bring more productivity to their roles, which benefits everybody in the company… including you!