HappyLifestyleJournal
Usually it is very easy to spot an awful boss, but what about great bosses – what makes them so great? Among many other factors, there are some core beliefs that make the difference between an average boss and a great boss. These beliefs form the ethical perspective towards employees, competition, money making and the work environment itself. Many bosses have a total disregard of the right ethical principles, and they live by the motto “the goal (money) justifies the means” – at least the awful employers do. However, great bosses think differently, and if you are planning of starting up your own business, these are the rules to live by.
1. A great boss goes great lengths to build a good relationship with the customers.
Statistics show that most of the businesses close during the first year of existence. It’s never easy to build a business, but you should consider your customers as “brothers-in-arms” in your battle of establishing your company. So, always go an extra mile to build good relationships with your customers. Big companies, like Apple and Coca-Cola, spend a lot of their time and money on maintaining their good relationship with its community of customers. They don’t say “a good customer is a happy customer” for nothing.
2. A great boss considers his/her employees as equals.
Many employers consider their employees as inferior individuals who shouldn’t be trusted and should be controlled at all times. This only makes the employees nervous, less creative, and they are more prone to doing less but making it look as if they are busy.
On the other hand, great bosses consider their employees as equals, and furthermore they know that a company is as strong as its weakest link. This is why they believe that there is excellence in each and every employee, while the staff members in return are more motivated to give their best.
3. A great boss considers the company as a community, not an army.
Many employers imagine their company as an army, where the employees are the soldiers. A chain of command is often set in place, where orders have to be accepted without any complaints. Rigid rules are also there to keep things in control.
This is a completely wrong approach to leading a company. Great bosses consider their companies as a unified community of individuals who contribute with their aspirations, virtues and vision. Therefore, employees are motivated to actively work on the success of the company.
4. A great boss knows that the working atmosphere should be stress-free.
Not so good employers think that work shouldn’t be fun at all – furthermore they don’t believe that their staff should enjoy work at all, and as if resenting the job itself is completely OK. The boss is the dungeon keeper and the employees are the prisoners – this approach couldn’t be more wrong.
Great bosses see work as an enjoyable activity that should put a smile on the faces of the staff – they also believe that they should be the ones who should actively work on their staff’s happiness, and try to maintain an overall healthy working atmosphere where the employees do not feel oppressed.
5. A great boss doesn’t see technology as a cheap substitute for employees.
A bad boss will see technology as a cheaper and more efficient substitute for workers. Or, which is maybe even worse, technology nowadays is often used to make the very unhealthy oppressed working environment possible.
Great bosses on the other hand know that technology is not a substitute, but an aid to the company staff. This way people have more time to be creative, as they spend less time on tedious tasks which would last forever without the use of technology.
As you can see many of the qualities that great bosses possess refer to building a good relationship with the customers and employees. Great interpersonal skills are crucial assets of successful executives, as building a strong community among the customers and the employees is the right path to success. Not doing so may lead to temporary success, but sooner or later it will all fall apart, just like a house of cards.
