10 Tips To Be A Successful Boss
Experts Have Some Advice to Help You
1. - Connect With Others. - Don’t be scared to connect with others, especially women, lower down on the totem poll,
says Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell, an associate professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of Career GPS: Strategies for Women Navigating the New Corporate Landscape. These women can be sources of intel, constructive feedback and emotional strength. “Every good woman needs an ‘atta-girl’ group.”
2. - Be Direct. - Declare your intentions as a boss, says Barbara Annis of Barbara Annis & Associates, a firm that guides blue-chip companies in gender diversity and inclusiveness. It’s easy to misinterpret a supervisor–especially for women who are known to personalize and ruminate. Directly tell your subordinates, “I really want you to experience me as a source of empowerment and support in getting your job done.”
3. - Don’t Change Just To Fit In. - Be careful not to take on the worst characteristics of male bosses and become overly competitive, overly individualistic, overly warrior-like in trying to prove yourself and to fit in, Edmondson Bell says.
4. - Help Others Into The Pipeline. - If you’re a pioneer who has paved the road to the top, be sure to allow others to travel on it. Just because one woman had to scratch and claw her way to the top doesn’t mean the rest of your team should have to, Annis says.
5. - Be Authentic. - Authenticity inspires people and forms solid relationships with others, says Edmonson Bell. Good male leaders are authentic. They talk about being a Marine; they talk about their maleness. “Being a woman doesn’t have to be a big deal, it’s just a part of who you are. You don’t have to hide it,” she says.
6. - Provide Clear Feedback. - As a leader, it’s critical that you provide your employees with clear and precise feedback. There’s nothing more frustrating for an employee who wants to move up in the ranks or improve their performance if their boss can’t articulate what they need to do to make that happen.
7. - Give Credit Where Credit is Due. - Stealing credit, particularly from an underling, is petty and unnecessary. And chances are, if someone you supervise performs well, her success will reflect on you too. After all, you’re the one who hired her.
8. - Reward Good Work. - While everyone likes to get a raise, it’s not the only measure for acknowledging good work. A few words of praise–particularly when money is tight–can go a long way in increasing employee satisfaction. And an employee that feels appreciated tends to be a loyal and productive one.
9. - Encourage Team Work. - Pitting employees against each other is counterproductive and just plain bad management. Instead, foster an environment of cooperation and encourage workers to turn to each other for advice and support. Two heads almost always yield better ideas than just one.
10. - Be A Good Role Model. - How you conduct yourself in various settings–meetings, networking events, business dinner–sends a clear message to your employees about what is acceptable behavior. If you’re always checking your BlackBerry or e-mail when you’re talking to subordinates, you’re sending a strong message that their time isn’t valuable to you. If you’re swamped, it’s better to tell them that you don’t have time at the moment but would love to talk when you can give them your undivided attention.
Read the full article at: forbes
Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.
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