By Deirdre Cerminaro
In your career, you will inevitably encounter all kinds of bosses. Some bosses feel uncomfortable if they don't complain a little every day; they have to voice their grievances. Others always act as if the world owes them five million. You can't help but wonder: do good bosses even exist in this world? Yes, they do.
Truly strong bosses are humble When we think of "boss," a classic image of "confident, assertive, and arrogant" often comes to mind, but humility is actually an essential quality for good bosses. Years ago, I went to Boston for an interview with Tim. After the interview, he asked if I knew how to get home. I said I had taken a taxi from the train station to the company, but I wanted to take the subway back. Instead of giving me directions, Tim said, "I'll walk you there!" As a CEO, he surely had many important things to do, but before I could decline, he had already grabbed his coat and pressed the elevator button. Tim doesn't remember this at all, but I still remember it vividly. I spent three hours in his office that day, but it was only at that moment that I felt I learned a lot from him. In just those few minutes walking to the subway station, I saw how he treated his colleagues and realized he would be a great mentor. People often see humility as a weakness in leadership, but it's not. There are many ways to express humility: you can welcome feedback, admit your mistakes, or simply treat others as equals. These are all seen as strengths, not weaknesses, in the eyes of employees.
Generously share resources rather than centralize power There's a saying: A boss who only talks about ideals but not money is not a good boss. Why do employees work? For money, experience, connections, and future prospects. Besides salary, if a boss can share resources and information with the team, it's definitely a good sign to work with them. Moreover, only when you help employees do their jobs better can the whole team achieve better results.
Lead by example and be a role model
Wake up at 6 AM to meditate;
Exercise every morning and participate in several half-marathons each year;
Be upright, good at summarizing and thinking, and continuously learning;
Constantly improve yourself and learn from others' strengths;
Be energetic and always available; Tim is a life mentor to every subordinate.
Truly good leaders dare to admit their shortcomings Leaders who act like "know-it-alls" often deprive employees of opportunities to think and grow. A truly good boss is willing to admit they don't know everything, and employees will respect them more for it. Put down your airs and use questions to stimulate employees' creativity, rather than always staying aloof.
Make all decisions transparently When you make decisions without explaining the risks behind them, you appear dictatorial and arbitrary. But if you explain clearly, even if employees don't fully agree, they will execute more effectively because they understand why you made that decision.
After fully delegating a task, never interfere again Sending an email, sending a WeChat message... There are always bosses who love to interfere in their subordinates' work. However, this kind of micro-management can easily lead to rebellious feelings and increase unnecessary workload.
Ordinary managers look at experience; senior managers look at attitude Experience can be accumulated, but attitude is irreplaceable. For truly excellent leaders: it doesn't matter what a candidate has done in the past; what matters is whether they have the right attitude and basic skills, which are key factors determining their future and yours. "Do your best and leave the rest to fate" – 99% of people focus on the second half, but those with exceptional attitudes often focus on the first half.
Make decisive decisions and avoid fear of choice The biggest taboo for a boss is "choice phobia" – indulging in this either/or game wastes a lot of time in the decision-making process. It's better to make a "good enough" decision than to wait for an overly idealized perfect decision in the real world.
Manage people, not numbers Traditional business thinking values "results," with everything driven by data. However, to achieve better numbers, the truly right approach for a good boss is to communicate more with employees and help improve their work performance. For example, use OKR or KPI for assessment, with simple metrics that employees can understand at a glance and that are directly linked to the behaviors you encourage. Remove metrics that employees cannot directly improve from the assessment plan.
Be fair and impartial This is easier said than done. Hearts are made of flesh; it's normal for a boss to favor certain employees. But as a leader, try to avoid this because favoritism demoralizes other employees, as they know they are less important than the favored ones and feel their efforts won't be rewarded.
Teach employees to set different priorities The concept of "overall priority" is more important than anything else. But for each employee, their own first priority is to meet their performance targets, which sometimes conflicts with the overall direction. A good boss should make them understand what the most important task is, so that the whole team can work together toward the same goal.
Stay calm and don't take out anger on employees Everyone has moments of frustration and breakdown, but if you explode in front of subordinates or say hurtful words, it may create wounds that never heal. Employees are not punching bags for bosses. If you can demonstrate how to stay calm in a crisis, it will be more effective than public venting.
Trust employees' instincts and give them full trust Bosses have the privilege of taking risks, but employees are often required to be rational and analyze data when making decisions. What if employees were also allowed to trust their own instincts? Once, I was helping Tim prepare a speech, and it was down to the wire. But I felt something was off. After hesitating for a while, I emailed Tim saying I wanted to make some big changes. Making slides takes time, and Tim needed time to memorize the speech. His reply was simple:
"Trust your instincts." Although it was only seven words, it was the most meaningful work email I've ever received. Tim not only gave me confidence, but he also let me know that after working together for a few months, he trusted my instincts too. You can trust your own instincts, but do you trust others'? Showing that kind of trust in others can create a ripple effect on employees' confidence and skills. In this company, even if an employee feels a word in a sentence is wrong, the leader will actually change it. Because I felt trusted, I rarely felt like I was working for a boss; I felt we were comrades. What should a good boss be like? I think it boils down to this: "Be generous with wealth to gather people, be strict with yourself to convince others, be tolerant to win people over, and lead by example to command others." – Zeng Guofan
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