6 Surprising Signs of Ultra-likable Boss

There is nothing worse than being a “Horrible Boss”.

When you are a boss, you need to strike the right balance between everything. A Gallup study found that 50 percent of current employees have left at least one job in their career because of their bad boss or manager. I have many employees talking to me about their previous experience of a toxic boss. “My boss was a bully, so I left my last job”. And I promised myself to not to be the one for my employees.

Being a likable boss is still a rare commodity. Everyone wants to work with a “loveable boss” and when the boss is the problem it is a big problem for everyone. We all know a few bosses -- only a few, who wins over the heart of everyone around them and here are signs of those highly likable boss.

1. The one-who-doesn’t-pry-into-personal-lives

Employees can definitely be great to celebrate achievements, hangout with after work at times, but everyone should have their own space. No one wants their boss to regulate their personal life. If you think you need to know everything about your employees’ personal life, it's really unrealistic. They’d hate it if you try to know everything about them. If you are really concerned -- a little care, trust, and respect can go a long way to build the relationship.

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2. The one-who-gives-freedom-to-work

When talking about freedom, a boss should create freedom at work with a hope to yield positive results. Believe it or not, employees will love working for you when you give them the freedom how they want to work. It will be a solid leadership move when you give them a room to reach their objective as they want to. Allow them to keep non-traditional hours, work from home, exercise creativity in their approach and stop clock-watching. Your employees will really surprise you when they feel inspired.  

3. The one-who-laughs-with-employees

When was the last time you laughed — a deep laugh in the office or in a meeting with your team? I bet many of you might have never done that. There is no rule that a boss has to always be serious, acting appropriately always. Greet everyone you see with a big smile and and an enthusiastic, heart-felt greeting. Laughter builds better relationship.

4. The one-who-doesn't-play-favoritism

As a boss, you might naturally gravitate towards someone on the team who gives more time at work, has more polished skill sets, and performs the best. This sets an outline for your favorite employee. Favoritism is alive in the business world, and most employees do not like working with a company where there is no sense of fair play.

5. The one-whose-team-is-always-motivated

In my experience, a team always expects their boss to set the vision or the future in the right direction by painting a clear picture of what’s waiting for them down the lane. Your people will be glad when they feel they are part of something important. This is the real motivation for teams as it inculcates a fire to add more value to what’s coming.

6. The one-who-don't-pass-the-judgment

If you want to be on the list of most likable bosses, you should start being open-minded and interesting to others. If you already have an image about the person, nobody would be willing to have a conversation with you. Be willing to listen to your employees. Stop passing judgment and give a try to see the world through other people’s eyes.

If you are a boss, and you fail to tick off all these signs, it’s time for some self-assessment. Do you know that 75% of people who leave their jobs, quit their bosses and not their jobs! Be the best boss, to make the best of each employee.

What else do a likable boss do? Let us know in the comments below!

About Author:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organizations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.