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Tag: Good leader

  • 4 Ways to Avoid Becoming A Nightmare Boss | Entrepreneur

    4 Ways to Avoid Becoming A Nightmare Boss | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We’ve all had that boss, the one who makes work life so much harder than it needs to be. We all swear we’d never do the same if we were in charge, right? Then, one day, you become the boss — and gasp: you’ve become the nightmare! Or is that just me? Honestly, I think my first step in becoming a better boss was being that nightmare at one point. I saw firsthand the dysfunction it caused, and here’s what I learned.

    No-no’s from a reformed nightmare boss

    Looking back, I can see that I never really set my employees up for success. During my stint as a nightmare boss, I had an amazing team; I just wasn’t an amazing leader. I wanted them to produce perfection (or what I considered perfection) without guiding them in how to do so. I struggled with articulating my vision for their roles and setting expectations. Instead, I would cherry-pick anyone willing to work and just hope they would learn well through trial and error. I have since realized this is a horrible way to onboard anyone. To avoid my mistakes, consider the following.

    1. Don’t try to mold someone to fit a job post

    Just because you like someone or need a new team member immediately doesn’t mean they are right for the job. I own a PR agency, and in this creative industry, some things simply can’t be learned. You either have the talent — as a copywriter, a designer or a media relations guru, for example — or you don’t.

    That’s not to say skills can’t be honed, but it’s essential to learn what people’s strengths are instead of what you’d like them to be. And who knows? Even if they aren’t a fit for that particular job, they may be perfect for another role on your team.

    On the flip side, when you find someone with the right passion and talent, you still have to manage them effectively. I once had an incredible brand director who was so creative and proposed making videos to convey PR lessons.

    This was long before Reels and TikTok, so it was a fantastic, novel idea, and I was all in on proceeding full steam ahead. However, because I didn’t hold her accountable for producing the end result, no videos were ever made! Not one.

    Related: 6 Tips for Hiring the Right People

    2. Don’t fire fast and regret it later

    When people make mistakes — and they will — take it as a teachable moment instead of a reason to cut them loose. This one was big for me. I was hiring fast and firing even faster. That’s no way to run a stable and successful business. Though I wanted people to succeed on their own, I now know that is not how things work.

    People need direction, input and support. When they mess up, that’s the time to teach and redirect so they can improve for the next time. I look back on the talent that was a part of my team, and I regret some of the fast decisions I made, letting them go before trying to show them how to make things work. I have since come a long way in this regard.

    What’s more, following this approach, I can appreciate that sometimes it’s just not a fit, even when you have taken the time to teach. That’s still okay, too, and in making that effort, I can be confident in my decision.

    Related: How to Fire an Employee

    3. Don’t separate yourself

    You and your employees are on the same team, and while there needs to be respect and clear roles, creating a you-versus-them mentality will not be effective. You must be approachable, willing to do the work and ready to share the successes.

    My PR agency is much stronger with a team that feels comfortable sharing ideas, no matter how off-the-wall, and letting me know when something isn’t working or when they have a better solution.

    For example, I’ve been trying to set and streamline operational standards for more efficiency, but having more of a content-oriented brain, organization and I are not the best of friends. This is not true of others on my team who are strong in that area and in the new project management tools we’re implementing.

    So, while I’m leading the charge, others are attending to process details. Not only will this produce better results, but my staff will also take more ownership in use of the software. Win-win!

    Related: 7 Proven Tips for Building Trust and Strengthening Workplace Relationships

    4. Don’t forget that you’re human too

    Both nightmare bosses and dream bosses are human. The difference is that only one of them is likely to admit it. When you misstep, acknowledge it and, if warranted, apologize for it. Showing you’re human doesn’t make you a weak boss; it makes you a more skilled leader and will further cultivate connection among your team than acting infallible ever will.

    Along these same lines is making the effort to do better. Remember when I mentioned teachable moments above? That applies to the boss, too. Things move fast in my industry and probably in yours — when growing a business, we always want to say yes to the client.

    But we need to learn to say “no” when doing so protects our team. Sure, there are times when an immediate turnaround is necessary, or we want to overdeliver to grow the relationship, but setting boundaries with clients and keeping expectations for staff realistic will go a long way toward bridging the gap between a not-so-great boss and a great one.

    Related: Why Vulnerability Is a Strong Business Leader’s Most Powerful Weapon

    The path to dream boss status

    Would I say I’ve achieved dream boss status? You’d have to ask my team to know for sure, but I’m trying my darndest to be, and that’s half the battle! With a bit of intentionality and by avoiding these mistakes, you can channel your inner dream boss too.

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    Emily Reynolds Bergh

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  • 8 Ways to Become the Exceptional Leader That People Actually Want to Follow | Entrepreneur

    8 Ways to Become the Exceptional Leader That People Actually Want to Follow | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Some people may have natural leadership abilities, but the hard work combined with that ability creates a true leader. Moreover, good leaders who are willing to do the work of continuous improvement can learn to become great leaders.

    Here are eight skills that can get you there:

    1. Practice self-awareness

    Awareness of oneself is how an individual consciously knows and understands their character, feelings, motives and desires. Through self-awareness, leaders can inspect and improve their behavioral patterns and, as a result, their contributions to successful outcomes. In addition, a high level of self-awareness opens the door to ongoing self-improvement.

    Related: Why a Self-Aware Leader Is a Good Leader

    2. Look past yourself

    The key to helping senior leaders become great is teaching them to look beyond immediate outcomes. In doing so, they become adept at seeing how their decisions and actions will play out in the next two fiscal quarters, at the end of the year, at the end of the next year, and beyond. Good leaders play checkers; great leaders play chess.

    Related: 9 Reasons Humility Is the Key Ingredient to Exceptional Leadership

    3. Embrace humility

    You are not the only one with great ideas. This means leaders must take an honest view of their own importance, which often requires an outside perspective to achieve it. It also means being humble enough to listen to and act on valid feedback, regardless of who offers it. It’s great when someone can offer truthful feedback in a friendly, constructive way. But even if the delivery is less than cordial, resist the temptation to “get them back.” Instead, focus solely on the core of the message, not the delivery,

    4. Maintain a beneficial schedule

    A beneficial schedule enables leaders to do their best thinking consistently. It requires the right amount of rest and time away from work — even thinking about it. It also means incorporating whatever is needed for a healthy body, mind and spirit, since they all work together.

    There are two specific benefits of keeping a beneficial schedule:

    • It fosters strategic and creative thinking. You can’t lead an organization if you don’t look ahead at different time horizons and think strategically about them. This is where creative thinking happens. Getting into that z one requires you to be physically, mentally and spiritually best.
    • It models healthy work-life balance. Many leaders look to the boss for how long they will work each day, when to begin work, etc. If you respond to emails over the weekend, everyone will think it’s the norm. The brain needs to rest and rejuvenate; working or thinking about work 24/7 is the exact opposite.

    5. Learn impulse control

    The ability to hit the pause button on emotion-driven impulses allows you to truly hear and digest what is being communicated by another person or within a group, respond with reason and intention, and logically document shared thoughts for further analysis. This skill enables you to think more rationally and deeply and consider all ideas – or combinations – to devise the optimal plan for achieving the best outcome. It also requires you to set your ego aside and really understand that finding the best solution is all that’s important.

    6. Meet people where they are

    Learning to listen and seeking to understand are common characteristics in all great leaders. The trick is lowering your own filters so you can stop making assumptions based on your perspective. A good coach can help you do this and provide tools to hone inquiry skills so you can ask great questions at the right times to bring others along — the kind of questions that don’t simply elicit information but provide a window into what makes that person tick.

    Related: The 6 Steps From Startup to Thriving Company Culture

    7. Speak kind truths and hear them

    Kind truths are important building blocks of trust in strong working relationships, which are essential to being a great leader. You can’t do everything yourself and be a great leader; you must achieve through others via collaboration and influence. How do you influence? By building trust.

    Examples of kind truths:

    • Call out the obvious. Call out the elephant in the room. Everyone already sees it, anyway.
    • Give direct feedback in a kind way. Refer to the action, not the person, avoiding “shame” language” – when the word “you” is used along with “should” in the past tense, i.e., “You should have known better.”
    • Speak clearly. Often, we try to soften our feedback, not wanting to hurt the other person. However, this makes the feedback muddled and unclear; kind truths are clear.
    • Invite and receive direct feedback. Most people are afraid to tell the boss where they can improve. Instead, ask them, “What I hear you not saying is…do you feel like this is true?” Say it in a non-confrontational, inquisitive way; you will be shocked when they say, “Yes, wow, that’s right.” The key is to do something about it then.
    • Act on the feedback. When someone gives you feedback, mirror it back, essentially asking what change they’d like to see. You can then speak about its plausibility and shape it to pinpoint exactly what needs to change or improve. Then, commit to doing it, with a date when you will check back with them on the changes they have seen. Then, set up whatever system works for you to make this behavioral change rapidly and permanently.

    8. Adopt reciprocity

    Reciprocity is the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit. You can’t be a truly great leader if you do not give to others for their benefit. They are always giving to you; the higher your role, the more they are giving. Give back to them; give to everyone. All the great and successful leaders of our time did more than just take every beneficial thing that was given to them; rather, they gave at least as much, if not more, than they took.

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    Karen Brown

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