Being the Kind of Boss People want to Work for
People don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses. This is a common phrase in the corporate world because who your boss is the largest determining factor in what your work life will be like. Your boss determines your title and compensation, future promotions and raises as well as the type of work that you do on a daily basis. Your boss can make your life amazing and also make your life miserable.
So what makes a great boss?
There are many ways to be a great manager and everyone has their own leadership style but there are characteristics I have observed across the board from the type of leaders people want to work for and continue working for. These are the types of leaders that people will follow across various companies so they can keep working for this person.
Here are the 3 main characteristics I have seen that make a great boss:
Competence- Having the right skills for your job and excelling in your position
Credibility- Being trustworthy not only in terms of your skills but also personally
Care- Caring about your team and demonstrating that through your actions
Competence
Every job has a basic level of competency required to do it. Being a leader requires you to not only have subject matter expertise in the area you are leading a team but also leadership skills. That basic competence is what makes people respect you and look up to you. You don’t need to know everything but if you know nothing about your role and the company you work for, your team is less likely to hold you in high regard as a leader.
Part of your job as a leader is to manage up, to make sure that the leaders above you know what your team is doing, how they are achieving their goals and how talented your team is. That includes giving your team credit where it’s due and even calling out team members themselves for their excellent work. All employees love being recognized for their work and doing that as a boss, especially to your bosses, goes a long way.
Finally, competence in your role requires that you have a vision for your team that ties into the vision of the company and that you ensure your team is working on something that matters and makes a difference for the company. Being able to explain to your team how and why their work matters can make a big impact when motivating them.
Once your team has clear goals, your job as a leader is to make sure they are set up for success to achieve those goals. Holding your team accountable to their goals is also a key part of being a great leader. People want to be on winning teams and successful teams not only set goals, they achieve them.
Credibility
Not only do you need proficiency around the technical aspects of your role, you also need credibility to take your leadership skills to the next level. A big part of this is having integrity and character and being a person that people can trust. You become this person when your actions are in alignment with your words, especially when it’s hard. A good example of this is when a team member is not performing. I worked with a leader that hired a new coordinator to help her team do some of the more mundane and rote aspects of their work so that the rest of the team could focus on their more strategic work. When this person was hired, he wasn’t performing at his role and he was lying about what he accomplished as well. After giving it enough time, and trying to make it work, this leader had to make the tough decision of letting the coordinator she hired go. It wasn’t easy for her, but the respect she gained from the team solidified her role as a leader because she didn’t allow someone who was hired to help the team hinder the team's progress with his lack of performance. Luckily, she learned from this situation and the next coordinator she hired was stellar.
It’s those kinds of choices that make you a stand out leader and creates loyalty on your team. It’s also that integrity and ability to do what you say you are going to do that gets respect from your peers and your bosses, which in turn, opens doors for your team as well.
Care
Finally, no amount of competency at your job can replace genuine care for your team. When you treat every team member as a human being who deserves to be respected, people see it and feel it.
Every person has different motivations and is in a particular place in their lives so getting to know your team is crucial for this. The more you get to know your team and understand their goals, the more you can help them achieve them. Some people want to get to the next level in their career as quickly as possible and some people want work life balance because a close family member is terminally ill. Knowing this and being able to work with your team to get their needs met, makes you a standout leader.
When you allow people to be who they are, bringing their personal and unique perspective to the team, you create psychological safety on the team. This allows team members to feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of negative consequences. People love to feel like they can bring their full selves to work and creating psychological safety as a boss allows your team to do that.
Also, every person has different interests so if you can align what everyone is working on with what they love to do, you will see your team’s motivation soar.
Being the kind of boss people want to work for is not only good for your employees and your company, it’s great for you because you will always have a steady stream of people looking to be on your team. Take the time to be a great boss and you will see how it pay off.