HOW TO BE A GREAT BOSS

SHARED FROM THE BOOK:

HOW TO BE A GREAT BOSS

GINO WICKMAN & RENE BOER

Ben Bella Books, Inc. Dallas, Tx

164 pages

 

The journey to become a great boss is not easy.  One of the responsibility is to develop people and improve their skills.  Great bosses earn their respect of those they lead.

 

To be a great boss, honestly asked yourself if you truly get it.  Ken Robinson (in The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything) defines ‘get it’ as an aptitude; or the natural ability for something.  The natural aptitude and ability is fundamental to being a boss.  Even when people receive great training and have great mentors, unless they really ‘want it’, those things likely will not stick.

 

Tips 1

Assigning people appropriately

by leveraging on their individual strengths

 

Box Person                     vs                          People Person

is well organized and great                         enjoys engaging customers

at keeping things in their place                                       and meeting their needs

 

 

 

4 TYPES OF CAPACITY TO BE A GREAT BOSS
1. EMOTIONAL The heart to feel what others are feeling The ability to walk a mile in their shoes To be open and honest with yourself and others Willingness to be real and connect with others To be humbly confident To be self-aware enough to know how you are influencing people	2.INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY Ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function
3. PHYSICAL CAPACITY Stamina, energy and tenacity To denote time and effort to master the craft To do the work To get your hands dirty when necessary	4.TIME CAPACITY Self-discipline To use time effectively To avoid the tranny of urgency To structure, prioritize, organize and delegate

 

 

 

To become a great boss you need enough time.  Great bosses aren’t born; they develop.  Bosses already find themselves consumed by the activities that they do each day.  Time is the most precious resource great bosses have.

 

People who work at 120% of their time capacity are bound for disaster.  You won’t be an effective boss with a high level of job satisfaction and fulfillment if you’re continually operating beyond your time capacity.

 

Delegating is simple in theory but not easy in practice.  Delegating and elevating will allow you to build tensions of yourself and will enable you and the organization to grow and develop.  Employee need to know that you trust them to do the work that you’ve delegated.  Leading and managing people is the number one role for a boss.

 

 

 

ADVANTAGES OF DELEGATING

1	Freeing up more time to spend with team
2	Ensuring the feeling of being more valued
3	Giving the team more responsibility and more autonomy
4	Stop being a bottleneck to those reporting to you
5	Team will become more competent

 

 

 

Choosing your team is a privilege that bears great responsibility.  Great bosses take time to evaluate their teams.  ‘Great People’ are the Right People who are in the Right Seats.

 

Core values define the soul of an organization.  They guide the organization through the ‘moments of truth’ when they’re put to the test.

 

 

 

THE 4 TRUTHS OF A GREAT BOSS

1. Being a great boss can be simple
2. Your style does not have to change
3. You must genuinely care about your people
4. You must want to be Great

 

 

 

A boss must provide the direct reports with effective leadership and management.  Being a great leader doesn’t make you a great manager.  Management is what you provide for some.  It’s not about what you do to someone.

 

 

 

THE 5 LEADERSHIP PRACTICE

1	Giving clear direction
2	Providing the necessary tools
3	Letting go of the vine
4	Acting with the greater good in mind
5	Taking clarity breaks (time scheduled away from office)

 

 

 

Effective leadership is putting first thing first

Effective management is discipline, carrying it out

• Stephen R. Covey
   
   

THE 5 MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
1. KEEPING EXPECTATIONS CLEAR   Great bosses appreciate effort, but they focus on results.  Expectations are a combination of all the 4 areas.  Clear expectations can also be practiced by adopting ‘The Herrington Rules – Creating Guests For Life’ (Paul Ruby, General manager of The Herrington Inn, Geneva, Illinois)	The 4 areas are: -       Roles -       Core values -       Rocks (goals, objectives or initiatives) -       Measurable (metrics or KPI)   The Herrington Rules Letting them know what you can do, not what you can’t do Turning a problem into an opportunity Believing that to serve others is to serve oneself Never allowing them to do something for themselves that you can do for them Making each feel special They are not always right, but what matters is that they need to stay that way Being consistent 15-10-5 Rule Focusing your attention on them within 15 feet; Smiling and making eye contact within 10 feet; Greeting within 5 feet Anticipating, following-up, and being proactive Assuming all are VIP and treat them as such Taking responsibility and using your best judgment Doing it right the first time.  Make a positive first impression.
2. COMMUNICATING WELL   There are no assumptions in relationship.  To greatly improve communication, there are 4 methods to help bosses eliminate assumptions.	4 methods to help bosses eliminate assumptions 1.    2 emotions (sharing positive and negative emotions) 2.    Question-to-statement Ratio (the 80/20 dialogue rule: 80% of direct report talking vs 20% of boss talking) 3.    Echoing (ask them to repeat their understanding) 4.    Thump-Thump (miss communication between 2 people)
3. MAINTAINING THE RIGHT MEETING PULSE	1.    Establishing the same wavelength 2.    Do not micromanage and let go 3.    Establishing just the right touch points 4.    Staying in contact with your team
4. HAVING QUARTERLY CONVERSATIONS	Keep the relationship from fraying
5. REWARDING AND RECOGNIZING   Great managers reward and recognize their people quickly.  People work harder for recognition than they do for money.  Do not underestimate the power of recognition and the effectiveness of feedback.	The 3 recognition disciplines The 24-hour rule (ideally within 24 hours) Public and private recognition (criticize in private and praise in public) Boss vs Buddy (don’t cross the line; only have great business relationships)   The 3 strike Rule – Handling performance issues

 

 

Great leader provide people with clear direction, give them the necessary tools, let go of the vine, act with the greater good in mind and take clarity breaks.  Great managers keep expectations clear with direct reports, communicate well, have the right meeting pulse, have quarterly conversations, and reward and recognize.  The by-product of being both a great leader and a great manager are personal accountability.

 

Quarterly conversations have a direct impact on employee commitment and engagement.  It keep them on the same page with their boss.  As a result, they feel like they are part of a team.

 

Quarterly conversations is an informal, face-to-face, one-on-one meeting to talk about what’s working and what’s not working.  Some people hold back because they fear reprisal.  People also don’t raise issue because of apathy.

 

Remember, people who have the courage to raise issues don’t do so to be difficult, but rather because they genuinely care about the organization.  They are often the most loyal.

 

 

Steps to have quarterly conversations

1. Build trust
2. Seek to understand issues
3. Create a safe harbor for them to share their concerns
4. Focus the conversation on the root cause and solution needed, not on finding fault
5. List down the issues

 

 

THE 4 PEOPLE ISSUES
RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT SEAT They are actively engaged at work They energize you, challenge your thinking, and making you into a better boss	WRONG PERSON, RIGHT SEAT Me-first vs we-first Put their interest before core values of organization Highly productive short term; they are killing your company long term Productive jerks Arrogant, painful to be around
RIGHT PERSON, WRONG SEAT	WRONG PERSON, WRONG SEAT

 

 

People are your number one competitive advantage because they are your most valuable resource.  You are accountable for their performance or the lack of it.  Great Bosses succeed in getting the most out of their people.  They continually raise the expectations of their people.  Great Bosses are people who are willing to meet with people to see and hear firsthand what’s happening.