Good boss/bad boss

Depending on your role and where you work, your relationship with your line manager can be as time intensive as the relationship you have with your significant other. You spend so much time interacting and dealing with one another that this relationship inevitably impacts your well-being away from the office. Having friendly colleagues or a rewarding salary generally does not compensate for a horrible relationship with your boss. Why does it matter if your boss is not a good boss? Your relationship with your boss has a direct impact on your productivity and the quality of your work product – when led by a bad boss, employees perform because they have to and not because they want to. They also tend not to feel loyal to the team and to the organisation, which will – in either the short- or the long-term - lead to higher employee turnover. When a business (or part of a business) has a poor month, quarter or year, it tends to be the employees who are blamed, when in fact there could be a far more significant underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Bosses should set an example to their employees, embodying what is expected from them and motivating them to be and do better. Being a good boss has a direct correlation with team productivity. Naturally, some people find it easier to be a ‘good’ boss than others – but most of us (with the right support, tools, experience and exposure) can become great leaders.?

Take the time to understand employees’ strengths and weaknesses because it will help optimise their potential. We all like feeling like we make a tangible difference to the teams we are part of and the organisation we are employed by so including people in projects and engagements that allow them to excel and put their skills to use validates them. Being validated makes us more productive, more focused and more engaged. Equally, recognising people’s weaknesses and guiding them towards ways to improve creates opportunities for employees to shine – even in roles that they may feel are beyond them.

Being able to promote effective teamwork is another quality of a good boss. Combining the right people to provide the best outcome possible is vital to success at a personal, team and organisation level. Sometimes, leaders are brought in on top of already existing teams, which can be tricky. Again, investing time and effort to learn about each team member’s abilities is one way of creating balance and harmony. Good bosses ensure that each employee is being appropriately utilised to their fullest ability – which leads to a higher chance of success.

Maintaining open communication allows a safe space for teams to speak about their concerns and areas they believe need to be worked on. The best ideas don’t always come from the most junior member of the team – but it does happen. Feeling comfortable enough to discuss workflow and issues that are hampering output helps identify areas of weakness. Once issues are resolved, both quality and productivity are likely to increase and that makes everyone happier – including the boss (and the boss’s boss).

One key differentiator between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bosses is the ability to listen and to empathise. Where no effort is made to understand the individuals in a team, their strengths and weaknesses or what they are hoping to get out of their roles, teams are likely to encounter challenges that are not dealt with immediately, are left to fester – and could ultimately ruin day-to-day quality of life and impact careers. Bad bosses lead to inefficient, unproductive teams, a chaotic working environment and frustration due to a lack of sense of community and a disconnection with their boss.?