8 Easy Ways to Be an Extraordinary Boss
High-class
leadership means doing both the little and the big things necessary for your
employees to flourish. Here's where to start.
Average
bosses create teams where everyone thinks the same way. Extraordinary
bosses seek to draw upon a multitude of viewpoints and opinions, and
thereby better understand what's happening in the market and what can be done
to take advantage of the market conditions. They don't set artificial quotas
but instead hire and promote in a way that avoids uniformity of thought.
2. Kill and eat your cash cows.
Average
bosses cling to the products and processes that made them successful.
Extraordinary bosses know most products and services have a relatively short
lifetime before being replaced by something else. They know that the "next
generation" will probably use a totally different technology and be sold
and marketed a completely different way. They are therefore more than willing
to sacrifice and replace current products and services, especially when those
products and services are selling really well.
3. Speak from the heart.
Average
bosses try to be businesslike and remote, hiding their emotions behind jargon
and weasel words.
By contrast, extraordinary bosses speak honestly about their goals and desires,
admit their own vulnerabilities, and ask for their employees' help and understanding.
When their team wins, they express gratitude. When their team loses, they
commiserate rather than criticize. Then they figure out how to do better next
time.
5. Encourage fraternization.
Average
bosses love perks like executive dining rooms that separate bosses from the hoi
polloi. Extraordinary bosses prefer perks like game rooms and free lunches
that promote social interaction, both between groups and also between managers
and employees. The goal: Make it easier for employees to build friendships so
that everyone understands that "those people aren't out to get me because
we're all in this together."
6. Become more family friendly.
Average
bosses view families as distractions from the real business of getting work
done. Extraordinary bosses, however, know that numerous studies show that productivity is greatly improved by the presence of on-site
child care, and that working from home makes parents more productive.
Extraordinary bosses, therefore, help employees be less distracted and more
productive by seeking ways to help them become better connected to their
families.
7. Support and fund hands-on volunteerism.
Average
bosses see corporate charity in terms of arm-twisting fund drives (think "United Way"). Extraordinary bosses
encourage group activities--like bake sales, benefit concerts, and school
mentor programs--that create social interaction, thereby building a stronger
sense of community both within the company and with community at large.
8.
Reduce bureaucracy by dispersing power.
Average bosses accumulate
decision making power at the top, which inevitably leads to the creation of
bureaucracy (think "Federal Government"). Extraordinary bosses know
that bureaucracy and centralized decision making creates friction and overhead,
which eventually slows growth. Extraordinary bosses thus tend to disperse power
downwards, thereby creating flatter, more adaptable, organizations.
BY Geoffrey James
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/8-easy-ways-to-be-an-extraordinary-boss.html?cid=em01014week11a
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