Tips to Being a Better Boss

No matter what type of workplace you choose to operate in, you undoubtedly have to manage people. They might be direct reports, clients or customers, interns, freelancers, vendors, colleagues, and of course the often most challenging of all, your boss or business partner.

Here are a few tips on being a better boss and how to manage behavior and time while reducing everyone’s stress and avoiding conflict:

1. Take control of the “reply all key.” Probably no other action causes more clutter in mailboxes than “reply all.” It’s easier for everyone to robotically or purposefully respond to an entire list than it is to select a relevant few. Overuse of the reply-all option allows the cycle to continue and the mail to multiply.

   Companies, such as Nielsen, are taking an aggressive tactic in this area according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. They have an anti-reply-all stance. Some organizations grey out the option, others use a function in Outlook that makes it impossible to respond to everyone; others monitor use and flag abuse.

   What’s your personal or group rule? Is it okay for your employees not to include you in every dialog? If “no,” ask yourself “why?”

2. Stand-up meetings force attendees to get to the point and manage the clock. With increased video conferencing taking place, I see many more people back in their chairs, so to be in view range. A fixable problem that could get everyone back on their feet and out of the conference room.

   I have a personal rule in this area that I use primarily because I sit too much. Whether it’s a call back or a coaching call, I stand and often walk around. It keeps me alert, energized, and away from the distraction of my monitor. It also makes me more aware of time. Initially I had to move my chair away from the desk to break the habit but eventually standing just felt normal.

3. Immediate feedback. If you saw a young child making a poor decision, would you wait for a week or two, or your next “sit down” to point it out? Would you clutter the coaching moment with unrelated items or preface it with “I just” or “I know you’re not going to like what I have to say?” Of course not. Why? Because it could be dangerous and is definitely ineffective. So why do we hesitate to give instant and specific feedback? Too busy? An easy excuse. Not sure what to say? Possibly, but you know what’s racing through your mind and taking up a good part of your cognitive worth at the moment. I argue we avoid and delay because we hope the issue will go away or we’re just plain afraid. Afraid of the pushback we think we’ll get? Fearful the person will no longer like us (assuming they ever did)? No, I think it’s because we’re scared of the unknown and it’s unfamiliar because giving feedback is a rarely and poorly utilized activity.

   Ask most people whether they would like the truth versus having it delivered in an avoidant or passive aggressive way and they’ll choose the former almost every time. The secret, after you’ve collected the facts, is in the delivery. The conversation, and it is a conversation, and one probably both people should be sitting down to have, is about a behavior not the character of the individual. It is what they did or didn’t do, not who they are. It’s specific, with examples and suggested solutions framed in optimism that the person will succeed. Most importantly it is about the present.

4. Measure results not output. Unless you’re running a factory, volume is rarely the most important measure and even then quality should supersede quantity.

   Too many leaders emphasize volume. Number of contacts, speed of response, how many pages, etc., are given great value. I’ve known these types of leaders and employees, worked with them and had some work for me. I call them deep powder skiers because they need lots of snow to glide around issues or situations. They easily fool and create massive amounts of work for themselves and others. I had my share of managers who tried to inundate me with so many details, charts, lists, and narratives hoping their sleight of hand would trick me away from the fact they missed the target. Questions like “what was the outcome?,” and suggestions such as “let’s work from the bottom line up” would invariably get the pushback “but I have a list of every…..” My response would always be “I’m sure you have but it’s not really the point, is it?”

   We are all more than capable at deceiving ourselves. By keeping busy, we feel we’re getting something accomplished. Have enough evidence and maybe we won’t be guilty. It’s easy to do and harder, but not impossible to stop.

Summary

Prudent use of reply-all, choosing to stand rather than sit, providing immediate and specific feedback, and placing the focus on results, rather than sheer output, are but a few of the activities we can incorporate into our daily routine, with little fuss, no cost, and tremendous benefit. Like any behavior you want to change, you must first admit you do it, start catching yourself in the act; then thinking of options and practice a few. Only then does it form a new desirable behavior.