Leadership Development Article: 9 Tips to Make You a Better Boss by John Boe

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9 Tips?to Make You a Better Boss by John Boe

In 1960, Jack Welch started his career with General Electric as a junior chemical engineer and 21-years later he had worked his way through the ranks to become CEO of the company. During his 20-years as CEO, Jack’s leadership and business acumen helped grow GE’s worth from $12 billion to $280 billion. He transformed the company’s corporate culture with his vision for greatness and simple, but dynamic leadership principles. Jack believed that companies with a vision to create a higher purpose are far more profitable than those that just?focus on the bottom line.

Jack was keenly aware that leadership by example and top-down management involvement were critical factors for developing the organization. He focused his attention on making GE leaner and far more competitive. His innovative and highly effective leadership principles have become legendary and studied worldwide.

True leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence. Here are Jack Welch’s, time-tested, leadership rules for you to consider incorporating into your leadership style.

1. Hold yourself accountable for your results, accept responsibility?for your actions and take ownership of your mistakes. If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t trying hard enough to succeed. When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it. Admit it, learn from it, and never repeat it. Great leaders understand that every mistake they make is a valuable lesson gained. A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.

2. Lead by example and energize others with your positive attitude and professional behavior. There’s absolutely no substitute for “leadership by example” and “walking your talk”. The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example. A negative mind will never give you a positive life. A bad attitude is like a flat tire, because if you don't change it you'll never go anywhere.

3. Set written goals for continuous?improvement in your business career and personal development. It's important to set your goals high enough to inspire you, but low enough to encourage you. If your goal doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you. If you really want to achieve a goal, you will find a way. If you don't, you will find an excuse. Giving up on your goal because of a setback is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat. The great J.C. Penny said "Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal and I will give you a stock clerk."

4. Empower your employees and build a strong team that is focused on mutual support and group achievement. The growth and development of people is the most important responsibly of leadership. They say if you want to go fast, travel alone, but it you want to go far, travel with a group. A team member's capacity to achieve is largely determined by his or her leader’s willingness to delegate authority and ability to empower. Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

5. Always under promise and over deliver by going the extra mile in everything you do. Going the extra mile is the cornerstone for successful leadership. The people who get the furthest in their careers are those who consistently go the extra mile and do everything they can to make the most out of every opportunity they are given. Search wherever you will for a single sound argument against going the extra mile and you will not find it…nor will you find a single instance of enduring success which was not attained in large part by its application. If a leader consistently exceeds the expectations of his or her employees, they will in turn consistently exceed the expectations of their customers.

6. Be truthful and honest at all times. Honesty is the?soul of an organization. There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity. The majority of people are honest most of the time, but how many people do you know who are striving to be honest all the time? Honesty is indeed the best policy, because no matter how badly you think someone will react when you tell them the truth, you can rest assured that they will be a thousand times more upset if (or rather, when) they find out that you’d lied to them.

7. Make yourself available to your employees. An "open door policy" doesn’t mean that your office door is literally always open. Rather, it means that your employees can come to you with any issues or suggestions that they have, and you will be receptive. Actively listen to your employees to make sure they feel like they're being heard. Give serious consideration to employees' suggestions about how to improve productivity—after all, they're the ones on the ground each day!

8. Avoid the temptation to micromanage. Assign someone to a job and then let them handle it.?Delegating helps you get more work done and creates a well-trained workforce. Once a task has been assigned, trust that employee to complete it without you hovering over them. For example, allow problems to work their way up a hierarchical chain before they reach you. This will empower your employees to make more of the day-to-day decisions. Stepping in to help an employee who truly needs direction is not the same as micromanaging.

9. Provide your employees with regular feedback. Good bosses keep their employees well-informed.?Employees need to know if you’re happy with their work performance, so tell your employees how they’re doing. You don’t have to have formal evaluations. Instead, incorporate feedback into your workplace operations. Give positive feedback during meetings, right after an employee gives a presentation, or while you walk around the office. Meet with employees for a few minutes each week to discuss the status of their projects. If an employee is expecting feedback on his or her project, get back with them ASAP so they don't feel frustrated.

You have no right to call yourself a leader if you are not passionate about what you do. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – U.S. President John Quincy Adams