The real question is: how does one become a leader and not just a manager of others?
The truth of the matter is that it takes time and attention to learn how to be a good boss. We may be good at what we do, but being a boss isn’t a natural skill.
While it’s hard enough to get used to the idea of having others make decisions in your business, the problem is exasperated because many business owners never had positive role models of how to be a good manager. If you had great bosses, you might never have left your previous job, right? But having a string of bad bosses is little preparation for being a good one.
Moreover, the old-fashioned concept of being a boss meant issuing orders and having others follow; sort of like the army.
For some, the idea of ‘my way or the highway’ management is still appealing. Many business owners hire their first employees with the idea that they’ll do a lot of the dirty work the business owner no longer has time for. They’ll be extra sets of hands, not extra brains.
But if you want your business to grow, you need extra brains, not just extra brawn, no matter smart or good you are. Thos who are on the front lines of carrying out a task, whether its is making a product, making a sale or shipping boxes, are usually in the best position to suggest improvements. So we need employees who can think; this requires leadership, not just management.
So how do we become leaders, not just managers?
First, while this may seem self-evident, hire well. Just as it’s easier to be a good parent if you have good kids, it’s much easier to be a good boss if you have good employees. You can’t choose your kids, but you can choose your employees.
When we need help, we’re often tempted to anyone we can get. But if you want to be confident giving someone authority, you need to hire someone you consider capable and trustworthy. Hire people you can trust, and trust them.
Of course this means paying a competitive salary with competitive benefits. You can’t hire good employees on the cheap. Remember, pay peanuts and all you’ll get are monkeys.
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Next, experts say never give someone responsibility without also giving them authority. If you’re going to give someone a job, allow them to do it; don’t make them come back to you for every decision. This means you have to learn to be comfortable with people making some decisions that are different from those you’d make. Some decisions are just different – not wrong.
However, sometimes employees will indeed make what turns out to be a wrong decision. How do good bosses handle that? They spend time with the employee learning why a decision was wrong and how to avoid it the next time rather than rehashing the history and looking for blame.
You also have to share information. Many bosses dole out information as infrequently as bonuses. As a result, employees often don’t have enough data to do their jobs well. You can’t just hand off tasks to others, you’ve got to sit down and spend enough time so they know all the relevant details; the project’s purpose, customer pressures, deadlines and budgets. Let them know their limits: how much can they spend without coming back to you. Be clear on the importance and priority of each task.
Most importantly, let people know they’re being given responsibility because you know they can handle it, not just because they’re a warm body or they’re nice. Most people try to live up to the trust they’re shown.
Finally, recognise that while you want to be a good boss, you’re still the boss. You’ the one who sets the overall vision, direction, and standards of your business. Organisations need leaders and employees respect fair and thoughtful leaders, especially those who also respect them. Go on and lead!
*Source: ausBIZ September 2008 |
