Ten habits of good bosses

Now and then you read articles in career sections about good leadership skills and what makes a great boss. Managing people is a skill that is not as easy to learn as your ABC. It affords knowledge as well as good people skills.

Nevertheless it is sometimes helpful to remind yourself what is widely regarded as the habits of successful and well liked people. The US-magazine FastCompany, which also publishes a yearly ranking of the most innovative companies, has summarised the most obvious habits of good bosses.

Clear Communication

Good bosses ask their employees about their opinions and what they value and communicate company decisions and strategies clearly. They engage in dialogue and are not secretive or ambiguous.

Trust

Good bosses employ according to intelligence, integrity, and an I-can-do-it attitude rather than just experience. That way, they don’t have to micromanage or waste energy on worrying whether the work will get done.

Consistency

According to a recent study by the Academy of Management Journal employees in environments where fair treatment is inconsistent have more psychological stress than both people who were treated consistently fairly and consistently unfairly.

Knowledge of the work

Against the belief that a good general manager can manage just anyone it is a definite plus for a boss to know what employees are doing and the challenges they may face in order to manage them well.

Certain allowance of mistakes

Employees who are so afraid of making mistakes are often paralysed in their work. If employees know however that it’s not the end of the world if they make a mistake or an idea doesn’t work out, they start sharing and collaborating more, according to FastCompany.

Self-Awareness

Bosses who have a feeling for the environment they create at the work place, know their own weaknesses and strengths are usually more successful in mitigating stress and other workplace issues.

Managing Upwards

Superiors who manage upwards meaning they work with their own supervisors as advocates for the people who report to them are usually well liked and respected amongst their staff.

Appreciation of the individual

Good bosses accept that everyone including themselves have a life outside the company. They therefore allow people time for their families and personal obligations.

Developing others

Good leaders have often had training and mentors themselves and they believe in providing similar support and an opportunity for development for the people they work with as well.

In other news from FastCompany we also wanted to pass on their ranking of the most innovative companies as these companies very likely employ some of these exceptional leaders that we have been talking about.

The top ten of innovative companies according to FastCompany are:

1. BuzzFeed

For shaking up media across the globe

2. Facebook

For not letting size get in the way of acting like a startup

3. CVS Health

For becoming a one-stop health shop

4. Uber

For hustling corporate business

5. Netflix

For giving unexpected audiences exactly what they want

6. Amazon