16 traits that say ‘I’m The Boss’

6) Give honest feedback, good and bad
Employees will always be better for being told the truth. Share the good news with them and share the bad news with them.  Trust in your ability to shape bad news in such a way that it is delivered sensitively and honestly and ensure that good news is shared and acknowledged.

7) Listen, listen and listen some more
If you can’t listen, you should not be a boss. This is perhaps the single most important attribute and it is fundamentally unteachable. You either have the capacity to listen or you do not.

8) Clearly and consistently articulate your vision
Some people are more comfortable in one-on-one meetings and others enjoy the spotlight that comes from addressing large gatherings of people. No matter which category you fall into (and you might be like me and enjoy both) it is absolutely imperative that you communicate your vision consistently and clearly. Don’t assume people know, don’t assume they heard you the first dozen times, keep telling your story until everyone gets it.

9) Invest your time with your best people
This seems almost counter-intuitive, but I believe in this principle as strongly as any other. You will get the greatest return from playing your best players. You will hear the greatest sounds by listening to the best musicians. Spend the majority of your time with your best people.

10) Move the non-performers out
When it is clear that there is not a good fit, move the non-performers out. They might have been poor hires, you may have inherited them from a previous management or, perhaps, the culture has changed or needs to change, and they just don’t want to get on board. Either way, don’t punish the business and the non-performers by delaying the inevitable.

11) Engage the creative process but demand focus and structure
I love to engage in the creative process, whether it is sales, marketing, education or product development. There’s just a great energy that comes from getting smart people around a table and exploring the “what ifs” and “what’s next” but, at the end of the day, there has to be structure and focus. Losing oneself in the process of reimagining and reinvention can be intoxicating but there should always be a sober hand to steer the ship back to center to avoid the pitfall of simply throwing stuff against the wall.

12) Steer clear of negative people
Negative people suck the life out of me. There’s no other way to put it. The energy that some people expend on seeing every glass as half-empty is toxic and debilitating. That it oftentimes hides behind the mask of “I’m just looking out for the company or the customer, etc. makes it all the more poisonous.” I can make no argument as to why people like this ought to be a part of any team, but I confess a pathological disdain for the type and some of you may believe they actually serve a role somehow or somewhere … good luck with that.

13) Don’t promise career opportunities that are misaligned with the employee’s talents
I recently described someone as having “an uneasy relationship with the truth.” Don’t be that guy. Be honest with your employees and let them know where they fit into your plans (all things being equal.) Telling someone that they will ultimately be promoted to a role that you know will never be a fit is patently wrong. At a minimum, let that person know what areas of personal development they need to engage in to better position themselves for a promotion but refrain from misleading or false promises. Better to lose an employee for the right reasons than to keep them for the wrong reasons.

14) Make tough decisions
Being a boss is not a popularity contest. Make the tough decisions when they need to be made. That’s why you get paid the big bucks!

15) Take responsibility
No one should have the burden of being right 100 percent of the time. Put your hand up and take responsibility when it is appropriate. Show a little humility and let people know that you were wrong. It lets your team know that it is OK to make a mistake and it reminds them that you are all in it together.

16) Always insist on a devil’s advocate being present in the room for important decisions
Whenever you are hosting a discussion with your team in advance of an important decision, always, always have a devil’s advocate in the room. Not only do you want to avoid the damaging and destructive effects of group-think--especially so when the idea came from the boss--you also never want to be so certain in your decision going into a meeting that a healthy discussion and debate can’t improve the outcome. You may still emerge from the meeting with the exact result you wanted going into it, but having the debate can serve to underscore its merits.

Again, I make no claim on the above list being complete or absolute. They are merely principles that I live by, and I hope you found some of them helpful as you consider your own personal “boss” style or the styles of those who surround you at work. 

 Peter Smith, author of Hiring Squirrels: 12 Essential Interview Questions to Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent, has spent 30 years building sales teams at retail and working with independent retailers to offer counsel and advice on matters of sales, marketing, personnel, training and compensation. Smith has worked in retail and on the wholesale end of the business with companies such as Tiffany & Co. and Hearts On Fire. Hiring Squirrels is available in print and Kindle on Amazon.com. He can be reached at Dublinsmith@yahoo.com and on LinkedIn.