This title isn’t just a ploy to catch your attention. Its purpose is to make you seriously consider how you might be driving your employees to an early grave. You’ve heard the saying that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses, right? Well take in this simple stat — a bad boss increases a person’s chance of having a heart attack by 50 percent.
An Inc.com article titled, “How Successful People Conquer Bad Bosses,” stated that U.S. workers describe their bosses as the following:
Self-oriented (60%)
Stubborn (49%)
Overly demanding (43%)
Impulsive (41%)
Interruptive (39%)
The article goes deeper, stating that most managers suggest they need to work on their people skills, but when actually asked where they should focus their efforts, most said, “improving numbers.”
This probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. In America we don’t typically do a good job developing great leaders. Instead, we operate in a system where if you want to be a leader you work under other demanding leaders and become a product of the environment.
This isn’t to say that all bosses or workplaces are bad. There are a lot of great examples of positive work environments that foster creativity and individual growth. However, this stigma of overbearing bosses has become a major staple in a lot of work environments in the U.S. We work too many hours, don’t experience life and tend to stress about the next step.
I believe where a lot of leaders fail is in self-evaluation. That doesn’t mean I think you should start making your leadership team fill out self-evaluation forms — in fact, that’s counterintuitive to my blog entirely. What I’m more suggesting is you self-evaluate yourself. Ensure that you strive to put leaders in place and let them lead. Foster a level of independence in your organization and trust your people to make good decisions.
Turnover occurs when bosses don’t manage employees properly. If you want to be a puppet master, you very much could continue to bring your employees on the verge of a heart attack — or worse for you, turnover will be greater.
Consider how you manage. Do you have standards for employees and positions? Are you continually making changes to the play or asking employees to adjust the play? Consider your own goals and then utilize the players to achieve this goal. Don’t continually throw in an audible, but also be open when new ideas come forward.
Being a good boss is one of the most difficult tasks for leaders around the world. Most bosses would state they desire to be well liked, successful and good at leadership. They’ve probably read a million books on how to be a good leader.
However, being a good leader is more about providing solid structure and support. If you’re interested in reading the Inc article, or seeing if you fit this mold, check out the link here.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor-in-Chief of Club Solutions Magazine. For thoughts on his blog, the print issue or the industry, reach out to him at tyler@peakemedia.com.
