Sometimes Bosses Need To Take A Look In The Mirror
There are numerous problems a Small Business can experience. But, sometimes it’s difficult to know if you are looking at a problem, or merely a symptom of a deeper problem. For instance, let’s take a company which has a very high turnover rate of employees and an equally high absentee rate. Those are problems. Low morale among employees and even lower production are also very serious problems. But things like these are rarely problems in and of themselves. More times than not, these four issues are symptomatic of deeper problems within the company. One tendency for the owner is to look outside of himself for the explanation, when the answer lies right in his own mirror.
Paul Brown wrote a good article for the New York Times entitled “Good Boss, Bad Boss. Which Are You?” In it, he discusses the self analysis a small business owner should do long before looking at something or someone else. I am including some expepts below:
To find out how good — or bad — a boss you are, the National Federation of Independent Business, a small business advocacy group, suggests asking yourself these questions:
1. Have you ever publicly criticized an employee?
2. Do you take credit for your employees’ work?
3. Do your employees fear you?
4. Do you expect employees to do what you tell them without question?
5. Do you believe employees should know what to do without you telling them or providing guidelines?
6. Are you a yeller?
7. Do you demean employees as a form of punishment?
8. Do you play favorites?
9. Do you hate delegating?
10. Do you check everyone’s work?
According to the answer key, the more “yes” answers, the greater the likelihood you are a bad boss….
Given that Trevor Gay wrote a book called “Simplicity Is the Key” — published in Britain by Kingsham Press in 2004 — it is not surprising that he has come up with a basic list of the differences between good and bad bosses.
In his 35 years of work (in the health care industry), Mr. Gay said he discovered that his best bosses had these attributes:
* “Inspired confidence
* Were humble
* Had integrity
* Knew what they were talking about
* Let me get on with things
* Were always there when I needed help
* Usually said, ‘Yes, try it.’”
His worst bosses, he said, had these deficiencies:
* “Never seemed to be around when I needed them
* Always asked me to justify what I wanted to do
* Always wanted to know what I was doing
* Often said ‘no, we can’t do that’
* Gave the impression of being distrustful
* Didn’t smile much
* Talked about themselves a lot.”
Writing in Inc., Leigh Buchanan offers several signs to bosses that their employees probably hate them. These are our two favorites:
“You never see people walk by. Employees would rather circumnavigate the entire office to get to the coffee machine or bathroom than take the shortcut past your door and risk being invited in.”
Employees do not volunteer for the boss’s pet projects. It could be because the idea is bad, and they are afraid to say that. Or the idea may be good, but they are petrified of what will happen if they let the boss down. Or since it is the boss’s pet project, he will probably work on it as well. “Which means more time spent …gulp …with you.”
Self examination is always the most difficult kind to do. Evaluating someone else’s performance is always easier. But, if you own and operate a small business, you must examine yourself long before you evaluate anyone else. Your behavior and attitude on the job makes all the difference to your employees and to your business.
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Susie – thanks for the plug about the NYT article – appreciated. Greetings from over the pond in England. Since that article was published I did a four minute live interview on Fox TV Business Network last Friday you can see the interview at this link.
http://simplicityitk.blogspot.com/2008/01/fox-business-network-tv-interview.html
Thanks again for your support
Trevor Gay
What an honor to have you on my blog and making comments. Thank you so much, and I enjoy the work you do with Simplicity.