How to Refrain From Being a Demanding Boss

Today's WSJ featured an article titled, How to Manage a Demanding Boss. The advice given to employees of demanding bosses requires employees to do whatever is necessary to work around bosses whose behavior is doing more harm than good. I wish the Journal instead had published a piece on How to Refrain From Being a Demanding Boss, as a story on this topic might get some bosses to examine their behavior more closely and consider making some much needed changes. Here's what I wish the author would have written.

There is nothing wrong with being a boss who demands excellence from his or her people, but not when doing so forces employees to sacrifice their own life for that of the company. Here's an example of what I mean by this. Asking employees to promptly respond to emails and texts 24/7 just because you're the boss and you think you can make these demands will no doubt come back to bite you. If employees see no demarcation between their work and personal life, then no doubt they will use what is supposed to be their work time to handle personal matters, which they no longer have time to do after hours, because you are intruding on their personal time.

So the next time you are about to demand an employee to work well past quitting time or to come in on weekends, ask yourself the following? Is this really necessary? If you have to think twice, it's probably not.

Get my newsletter, The Talent Maximizer? delivered right to your inbox. It's jammed packed with tips on how to maximize your talent!