We’ve all had to deal with an unkind, abominable, and intimidating head honcho at some point in our lives. While braggarts may reach the top of the corporate ladder, they often fail as leaders.
A vast number of senior managers portray personality traits typical of a narcissist, such as arrogance, self-centeredness, and poor interpersonal skills. However, these qualities make for the worst leaders. A recent study suggested that terrible bosses stand higher chances of landing the best jobs.
A boss says, “I,” while a good leader would say, “we.” This means that good leaders are the ones who provide guidance and work as a team, considering everyone’s opinions. They can accept their own mistakes and give credit where credit is due.
If you want to avoid walking in the shadows of your awful boss, here are a few things to remember to be a good leader:
1. Win their Trust
A survey conducted by Forum EMEA in 2016 showed that stealing credit for others’ work or ideas exemplifies the traits of a bad boss. Blabbing about co-workers, poor communication skills, and dishonesty were on the list as well.
This causes a lack of trust amongst the team, ebbing their motivation and performance.
If you listen to your employee’s concerns, speak candidly, keep your words, and lead by example, your employees will learn to trust you.
2. Understand their Needs
Try and pay attention to your employee’s needs. Each individual seeks different things in an organization, and recognizing those needs will positively reflect their performance.
Some employees feel the need to be appreciated, while others may just be looking for a sense of belonging. As a leader, you must take a friendly approach and display interest in what they do while praising them whenever they perform well.
3. Realize how your Behavior affects the Team
You must be aware of your actions’ impact on your team members. Your behavior can affect as much as 70% of the team’s morale and energy levels.
Instead of focusing on your own goals and benefits, try to see the larger picture. Take everyone together and work towards achieving goals that would benefit the entire organization.
You will bounce back as a good manager if you follow these tips.