We’ve all seen bosses from hell—the ones who are never there when you need to ask them a question but who will scream and yell at you in front of all the employees when you get something wrong. You may not have direct experience with someone like this but you might have seen someone else undergo the same experience.
Then there are the bosses who will keep track of exactly what time you come in so that that they can deduct it from your pay. And they’ll come in late every single day! And there are bosses who seem to be trying their best but aren’t very organized.
Needless to say, all these types of bosses need a few lessons in kind and respectful ways to lead. So here are a few tips:
Is it really necessary to raise your voice? It’s important to ask yourself this every time you’re tempted to give it to an employee for incompetence. If there is any other way to deal with the situation, shouldn’t you opt for that instead?
Practicing what you preach: If you’re holding employees accountable for lack of punctuality, taking long lunch breaks or leaving early, you need to ask yourself if you’re doing the same.
Rewards vs. punishments: Psychologists have show that rewards work better than punishment when you’re trying to teach someone something. In terms of employees, rewards can be: a word of praise, a raise, a bonus, an employee of the month award etc.
Encouraging Communication: Whether you’re running your own business or you’re one of the higher ups in a company, it’s a good idea to encourage people whom you are supervising to communicate with you and tell you their ideas as well as their grievances.
Being open to ideas: You don’t just need to encourage employees to communicate with you; you also have to be open to their ideas, especially if several employees are telling you the same thing.
