You have started your own company. You have worked long and hard. You are a successful entrepreneur – so successful that you have been able to hire people to work for you. You are the boss. Finally.
But being a good boss is not the same as being a good entrepreneur, writes Brian Hamilton for Entrepreneur.
Here are five ways to be the best boss you can be:
1) Take an interest. What do your staff want? Make an effort to understand what your employees want from their job and from you. Serve them well and they will serve you well.
2) Tell people how they are doing. “People want to know if they’re doing well in life or not. It’s part of human nature,” writes Hamilton. What does success mean to your staff? Sit down with each employee and set specific share goals with deadlines for achieving each goal.
3) Take your role seriously. Being a boss is a craft, and like any craft it requires hard work to master. Separate the role of boss from all of your other duties. Think deeply about what it means to be a boss and how you are going to become the leader you want to be.
4) Hire the right people. No matter how good a manager you are, you will find it difficult to manage an employee you just don’t click with. In order to work productively together people have to like – or at least respect – each other. If an employee knows you don’t like them, they will not perform for you. This should be a key consideration during the hiring process. If you are having difficulty with a current employee who is too talented to let go, try and find a way for another senior member of staff to manage them.
5) Have realistic expectations. You started your company. You sacrificed your time and money to ensure that it became a success – and you still put in 100 percent every single day to make sure your baby continues to thrive. Your employees, no matter how conscientious, dedicated, hardworking and loyal, will never care as much about your company as you do. Accept this and measure their performance by a different yardstick than you do your own.
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
Work hard to be the best boss you can be and you will be rewarded with better employees. Your team will work harder for you and your business, and won’t need to go in search of a better job – or a better boss.