What_Makes_a_Good_Boss_

							Title:
What Makes a Good Boss?

Word Count:
694

Summary:
According to Rob Sheehan, director
of executive education at the James
 MacGregor Burns Academy of Leaders
hip at the University of Maryland,
_Being a good boss is important in
any organization, but it_s particul
arly important for small business.
Keywords:
Management training, Business manag
ement, Business,leadership, managem
ent, leadership training.

Article Body:
According to Rob Sheehan, director
of executive education at the James
 MacGregor Burns Academy of Leaders
hip at the University of Maryland,
_Being a good boss is important in
any organization, but it_s particul
arly important for small business.
 With smaller businesses, you reall
y have the opportunity to set the t
one for the entire company._ There
 are several characteristics, trait
s, and attitudes that seem to be pr
evalent among executives that are v
iewed as _good bosses_ by their emp
loyees. These include:

" Including all levels of employe
es in decision making
" Concentrating on the company_s
mission, not just its ability to ma
ke money
" Demonstrating the value of learn
ing new skills
" Encouraging employees to advance
 their careers
" Setting an example of a positiv
e attitude and work ethic

Assigning Responsibilities
The organization of your small busi
ness will be determined by your det
ermination of who should be doing w
hat and when _ in other words, assi
gning tasks and duties to your empl
oyees. At the center of any organi
zation are its people and those peo
ple have to know what is expected o
f them in order to perform satisfac
torily. Usually a small business w
ill start with a few (maybe even on
e) person(s) performing all of the
day-to-day functions. However, as
the business grows it will be neces
sary to hire others to perform spec
ific roles within the firm. As a m
anager, you will be required to rec
ognize when new needs emerge and to
 hire the appropriate personnel to
address those needs.

Business Teams

You should not be the only one resp
onsible for the success of your sma
ll business. The ultimate in organ
ization is the formation of a busin
ess team that allows you to delegat
e authority and, as a result, incre
ase productivity. Your business te
am should consist of those employee
s who are in charge of the major fu
nctions of your organization.
To be effective, a business team mu
st have a leader that is respected
by all of the team members. In ret
urn, the leader must respect all of
 the member_s individual abilities.
   A team spirit should be evident a
s each member uses his or her stren
gths to compensate for the weakness
es of others.
Mistakes in the workplace should re
sult in correction not retribution.
  Each member of a team should real
ize their own importance to the org
anization and feel free to explore
other areas of activity.

Communication

Tips for Employers

A 2001 study analyzing 20,000 exit
interviews revealed that the most c
ommon reason that people leave a jo
b situation is poor supervision _ b
asically, they had a bad boss. Pro
bably the biggest factor contributi
ng to the perception of poor leader
ship seemed to be poor communicatio
n skills. How can you as an employ
er improve your communication with
your employees? Try out a few of t
he following suggestions:

1) Listen. Actually pay attention
 to what your employees are saying.
 As simple as this sounds, try this
 exercise; Tape a conversation then
 after you have finished communicat
ing, try typing as much as you can
of what the other person said. When
 you are finished, play the tape wh
ile reading your notes. See how acc
urate you_re listening and memory i
s.
2) Designate specific times to mee
t with your employees one-on-one at
 least twice a month. Not allowing
 interruptions during these meeting
s will convey to them that they hav
e your undivided attention and that
 you value their input.

3) When changes are going to have
to be made in the workplace, let th
ose affected know as soon as possib
le. Tell them personally and don_t
 let them find out through the grap
evine.

4) Let your employees know what yo
u stand for. When they are aware o
f your value system, they will be a
ble to make better decisions, or at
 least decisions that will be more
pleasing to you.

5) Let your employees know how the
y are doing on a regular basis. Do
n_t let an employee find out that t
hey are not performing up to your s
tandards at their yearly performanc
e review.

6) Improve your public speaking sk
ills. Your credibility with your e
mployees is directly tied to your a
bility to convey information to the
m successfully.

7) Don_t use e-mail to do your dir
ty work. Whenever a situation invo
lves strong emotions, it should be
dealt with in person.