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HOW DO YOU RATE AS A BOSS?
By John Tschohl If you asked your employees to rate you and your performance as a boss, how do you think you would do? Probably not as well as you would like. Why? Because, for most of us, it’s easy to critique and criticize others while ignoring our own shortcomings. Most bosses have been promoted to their positions without having any training in how to manage people. That lack of training is a roadblock to motivating and retaining employees. Studies show that most employees leave their jobs not because of money but because they don’t like or respect their bosses. And, when you have to replace them with new people, you incur the cost of training them. So, if it’s the bottom line that concerns you and your company, you’d do well to pay attention to how you manage your people. How can you improve your performance as a boss? Take these six steps: Make employees feel wanted, needed, and valued. When they feel that, they will also feel secure and supported. They will work better with their customers and coworkers. They will make more empowered decisions. And they will be unafraid to take risks. Consistent and continued training and professional development will help your employees refine their skills, discover new areas of interest, and boost their self-esteem and confidence to exceed expectations. Communicate. It’s imperative that you communicate with your employees and that you do so honestly and openly. Let them know what you expect of them and ask what you can do to help them accomplish their goals. Too often, the only time bosses communicate with employees is when they point out a negative. It’s much more important to identify what your employees are doing right—and to recognize their achievements—because doing so motivates them to do more, to do better. Be a coach. Provide employees with the training and tools they need to do their jobs. If you were coaching an athletic team, you would make sure your players had the proper equipment and training to help them perform well. You would also have a game plan that brings team members together in working toward a common goal: success. An effective coaching strategy is not one-size-fits-all. The most successful coaches in any industry know that they need to adjust their styles on a per-employee basis to get the most out of everyone. Identify each employee’s unique skills and personality traits. Once you understand your employees, their strengths, their skills, and what they desire, you can work strategically to position and motivate them to perform at their best. Let your employees know that you are invested in them and in seeing that they succeed. Provide constructive and goal-oriented feedback. Give employees in-person feedback that is timely, objective, specific and knowledgeable, and direct and detailed. That feedback is the most important way you can affect employee performance. Address both what employees are doing well and where they could be doing better. Then work together to develop a plan that will get them where you need them to be in their performance. Do what you say you are going to do. Delivering on your promises—whether it be instituting a new training program or scheduling a one-on-one meeting—shows employees you value them. It also increases their loyalty to you and your company. When you keep your promises, it builds trust. If your employees don’t trust you, they won’t do well by you. As a boss, your goal should be to create an environment where your employees understand that you are there to serve them. You are there to provide them with the resources they need to do their jobs well and to succeed. For more information on John Tschohl and the Service Quality Institute, visit
www.customer-service.com. | 
