“Am I a good boss? What are the signs of a good boss which will help me to know if I am one?” Being an entrepreneur, these questions prick your mind if you are managing your workforce well. You worked on your idea and now, there are many people working for you. This is a question that bugs the new entrepreneurs’ minds more.
Before starting the business, no one tells you what to do and what not to do. But if you want to be an entrepreneur, you must know a few things beforehand while you learn others working in the field. Being a boss is one of them. Those who are running the business for years do not worry much about these things. They know how things work. But when a business is growing, you want everything perfect and in the chase of this perfection, you test your employees as well.
While you’re an entrepreneur and it is not your job to keep everyone happy you want that your employees should respect you. To know if you are a good boss or what are the signs of a good boss, read on.
Signs Of A Good Boss
You Consider Your Employees Human
You work 80 hours a week, it is completely up to you. While your business is your life, your employees have a personal life as well and you cannot demand them to contribute more than the required time as you do. A good boss understands these things. Yes, situations may demand a little more from them but don’t make it a routine.
You Consider Efforts
What is important- efforts or perfection? You must have made mistakes while starting your business. People make mistakes but as long as they are making great efforts, the salary you are paying is not getting wasted. A person who chases perfection and does not count on efforts can never be a good boss.
You Are A Good Judge Of People
As an entrepreneur, it is important that you are good at judging people regarding their capabilities if they are fit for a particular job if they are the right fit for your company. If you are not aware of these things, you will not be able to place them as per their skills and abilities which are not in the interest of your business as well as the future of your employees. This is a great sign of a good boss.
You Listen To Your Employees
“I am the boss.” Yes, you are but it does not mean that you stop listening. Be it a business idea, a suggestion, feedback, or even a complaint, a boss listens to everything very carefully. A boss who is a good listener is always admired who considers his employees’ opinions.
You Are Honest
It requires an honest person to point out the flaws as well as praising an employee when he performs well. You are not supposed to say nice things to people to become a good boss in their eyes. You should be blunt. I have made my employees cry but they needed it. Not that you need to make them cry, but be blunt, be honest, and if you are honest, you are doing a favor to your employees.
You Are Not Always Uptight
You make the entire office hush as you enter, a few nods from people who are looking for promotion whisper good morning to you, you get inside your own office and the chit chat among the employees starts. This is not the sign of a good boss. A good boss is not always uptight. He must have some sense of humor. There should not be a barrier between you and your employees.
You Trust Your Employees
“Only I can do this”. If you think this way, you are mistaken. You have hired your employees; you need to trust them with new responsibilities so you must have an idea about their capabilities, their skills, their performances so that you can delegate. It frees up your hands as well as it gives your employees something challenging to work on. This study here talks about the directive and empowering leadership.
You Are Considerate
Working for you doesn’t mean that your employees have no personal life. As life is always uncertain, there is never a lack of incidents or events in people’s lives which demand their attention more than their jobs like an ailing parent, relations, family, financial crisis, etc. During these times, you need to be considerate. Hear people out, their reasons for not performing well, and give them some space. You can lessen their official burdens for example. Relieving a person for a while won’t sink your business for good.
You Align The Goals Of Your Employees With The Business’s
If you are aware of the goals of your employees, you can help them align their goals with the company so that they feel a sense of propriety and work accordingly. When they share a goal, they share a sentiment, which makes them work harder.
You Ask, Instead Of Commanding
As a boss, it is your right to command. But saying things in a polite manner changes its impact and people feel more inclined to do the requested task. Commanding only for the sake of establishing dominance is not right. You are the boss and they know it, you do not need to remind them every now and then.
You Are Not Too Sweet
It may sound contradictory but it is true. It is important to maintain the professional balance apart from being considerate and honest. Do not make friends among the employees, else you will not be able to order them the way you need to do sometimes to get things done. If they do not take you seriously, they won’t listen to you.
You Set An Example
A boss is never “all talk and no action”. If you are demanding something from your people, you must set yourself as an example. When they witness their boss working as hard as them, it reaps respect.
You Share Success
In a war, the success comes from every bullet, every horse, every weapon, and every man who fought it with all his might. In the success of the business, it is a success of every person who worked in the organization and a good boss knows that.
You Are A Good Leader
This is among the most important signs of a good boss. You have a vision, you know where you are heading but if you are unable to pursue your team to follow you, you are not a great leader. A good boss needs to be a good leader who has a clarity of thoughts, vision, and the ways to achieve the defined goals.
You Are A Risk-Lover
People complain about work burnout because they get bored with their jobs. But if you are a good boss, who allows his employees a little innovation and is willing to take risks himself, your workforce will never, complain about the work burnout. As they find challenging jobs every now and then, it maintains the energy level in the workplace.
You Are Not The Old-School Boss
In many businesses, you will find bosses who consider their employees as servants. They believe that hurling insults and abuses motivates their employees instead it fills their heart with hatred and negativity about their boss. Treating humans like humans is a good trait and you must have it.
You Are Respected
While you laugh, scold, praise, and lead your employees tactfully, if they respect you if they admire you, and some of them want to be like you at some point in time in their lives, you are a good boss. As a leader, that’s what you want to earn, right? Respect.
Conclusion
A good boss is not perfect but he knows how to be a perfect leader, a good human, and a good friend at the right time. Being an entrepreneur, you have several things to worry about. So do not worry about what kind of boss you are if you see these signs of a good boss in yourself.
