You may have heard the phrase, “People leave managers, not companies.” Considering the number of rounds this particular quote made on social media platforms, it must be true. No one sets out to be a bad manager; however, it’s always difficult to see oneself from a different perspective. While you may think you’re an excellent boss, your subordinates may disagree, vehemently.
Irrespective of where you are in your managerial journey, there are always areas that can be improved upon so you can be a better boss and ensure your team is at its best game. Listed below are some of the worst things you can do as a boss. If you’ve been doing them, knowingly or unknowingly, it’s time to make some changes.
Finding Quick Solutions to Problems
Solving problems is a good thing, especially when done in record time. However, if it comes at the expense of favoring one employee over another, it can be problematic. Consider a scenario where you assigned worked to someone in your team, but the person didn’t perform as expected. Now there are two ways in which to deal with this situation. One is where you ask another employee to fix the problem; someone you trust will complete the job. Another is to sit with the employee and get to the root of the performance issues with real-time reviews.
If you’ve been doing the latter, you know what we mean. More often than not, employees struggle with a lot of issues, most of which have nothing to do with the task at hand. If you can help them through trying times, you’re on your way to becoming a better manager.
Catching-up During Coffee Breaks
Who doesn’t like to have coffee with their managers? No one ever! It’s that one break where people tend to list down every fault they can find in their boss. Now, if you’re in the habit of catching up with your team members during breaks, you’re going to get nonchalant answers. Most of these answers will have no basis in truth. One of the most significant development areas for managers is scheduling one-on-one meetings. Most bosses tend to push off private sessions with their direct reports until absolutely necessary. If that’s something you’ve been doing, you must change.
To be a better boss, you must first understand your team members, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their personality types. Only when you get an idea about how your team functions, can you be in a position to provide valuable feedback. One-on-one meetings offer your employees the opportunity to bring up uncomfortable conversations like promotions, training requirements, gaps in knowledge, etc. All in all, if you don’t know anything about your team members, it’s time to start now.
Motivate the Team Enough
Since you’re the boss, no one will come up and tell you when you’re absolutely mean. While you may regret your actions, the harm would be done. When you lose it and take it out on your team, you forget that they are also human beings – capable of both failures and successes. However, the way you treat your team when they’re especially down is the fine line that differentiates between good and bad bosses.
For you to be a better boss, you must understand that demotivating an employee will only harm you and your company. A demotivated person will never reach his/her potential and will feel horrible coming to work. Unless you’re someone who doesn’t mind seeing other people suffer, you may want to step back and reflect on your actions. Your role as a manager should be about finding new ways to boost your team’s morale. If you’re not motivating them enough, you may be giving them a lot to crib about during break hours.
Conclusion
Your executive force, one that does all the hard work, is the force that you must understand before beginning to lead. No one is born a great manager; they learn through their own experience. If you think you’re a good manager, you may be right. However, you might also be completely wrong.
To get an idea of where you stand as a manager, try to connect with your employees. Ask them what you could do to make work easier or ways in which you could help. Schedule meetings with your team members and get to know them better. Remember, open communication is vital. Your employees shouldn’t be scared of you. Last but not least, always recall the fact that your employees are where you were a few years ago. Ask yourself the type of manager you wish you had, and be that!