Risk & Business Magazine CEO/CFO Business Today Magazine | Page 15

GREAT BOSSES
is important to them, but only those
leaders who truly believe it walk their
talk by demonstrating integrity every
day. Harping on people all day long
about the behavior you want to see has
only a tiny fraction of the impact that
you achieve by believing so deeply in the
behavior that you demonstrate
it, yourself.
Great bosses believe in their people,
and this belief drives them to create an
environment where people thrive. Let’s
explore some of the driving beliefs that
set great bosses apart from the rest of
the pack.
1. GROWTH SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED,
NOT FEARED. Average bosses fear their
smartest, hardest-working employees,
believing that these individuals will
surpass them or make them look bad.
They hesitate to share information
or to enable authority. Exceptional
bosses, on the other hand, love to see
their employees grow. They are always
grooming their replacements and doing
whatever they can to create leaders.
Research shows that the number-one
thing job seekers look for in a position is
growth opportunity and that 80 percent
of all job growth occurs informally,
such as in conversations with managers.
Exceptional bosses want their best
employees to maximize their potential,
and they know that good feedback and
guidance are invaluable.
2. EMPLOYEES ARE INDIVIDUALS,
NOT CLONES. Average bosses lump
people together, trying to motivate,
reward, and teach everyone in the same
way. Exceptional bosses treat people
as individuals, respecting the fact that
everyone has their own motivation and
style of learning. Something different
makes each employee tick, and the best
bosses will stop at nothing to figure out
what that is.
3. EMPLOYEES ARE EQUALS, NOT
SUBORDINATES. Ordinary bosses
treat their employees like children;
they believe that they need constant
oversight. These bosses think that their
role is to enforce rules, make sure things
run their way, and watch over people’s
shoulders for mistakes. Exceptional
bosses see employees as peers who are
perfectly capable of making decisions
for themselves. Rather than constantly
stepping in, exceptional bosses make
it clear that they value and trust their
employees’ work and only intervene when
it’s absolutely necessary.
4. WORK CAN AND SHOULD BE
ENJOYABLE. Ordinary bosses see work
as something that everyone has to do,
whether they want to or not. They believe
that their role is to make sure that their
employees don’t slack off or grow lazy.
They say things like, “If it weren’t for me,
nothing would ever get done around here.”
However, exceptional bosses love their
jobs and believe that everyone else can,
too. They give people assignments that
align with their strengths, passions, and
talents. They celebrate accomplishments
and douse people with positive feedback
when they do good work.
5. DIVERSITY, NOT LIKE-MINDEDNESS,
BEARS FRUIT. Average bosses want their
employees’ ideas to align with their own,
and because of this, they try to hire like-
minded individuals. They encourage their
employees to think similarly and reward
those who “just put their heads down and
work.” Exceptional bosses actively seek
out a diverse range of individuals and
ideas. They expose themselves and their
companies to new ways of thinking.
6. MOTIVATION COMES FROM
INSPIRATION, NOT AGONY. Ordinary
bosses think that strict rules and rule
enforcement drive employees to work
effectively. They believe that people need
to fear layoffs, explosions of anger, and
punishment in order to operate at 100
percent. People then find themselves
in survival mode, where they don’t care
about the product, the company, or the
customer experience; they only care about
keeping their jobs and appeasing their
boss. Exceptional bosses motivate through
inspiration—they know that people will
respond to their infectious energy, vision,
and passion, more than anything else.
7. CHANGE IS AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT
A CURSE. Ordinary bosses operate by
the motto, “This is the way we’ve always
done it.” They believe that change is
unnecessary and that it causes more harm
than good. Exceptional bosses see change
as an opportunity for improvement. They
constantly adapt their approach and
embrace change to stay ahead of the curve.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
If you’re currently a boss, is this how your
employees would describe your beliefs?
If not, you’re leaving money, effort, and
productivity lying on the table. You’re
also probably losing some good employees,
if not to other jobs, then at least to
disengagement and lack of interest.
BY: TRAVIS BRADBERRY
AUTHOR & COFOUNDER OF TALENTSMART
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning
coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and
the cofounder of TalentSmart® the world’s
leading provider of emotional intelligence tests
and training, serving more than 75 percent of
Fortune 500 companies. His best-selling books
have been translated into 25 languages and are
available in more than 150 countries.
Dr. Bradberry is a LinkedIn Influencer
and a regular contributor to Forbes, Inc.,
Entrepreneur, The World Economic Forum,
and The Huffington Post. He has written for,
or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek,
Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The
Harvard Business Review.
TalentSmart.com
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