So You Think You Can Manage.

Browsing the web one day, I came across an interesting article on msn.com that seemed to really showcase the reality of what goes on in the workforce. Not necessarily awful working conditions and things like that, but more in the sense of the people who have themselves on the highest pedestal there is while being as oblivious as somebody can be regarding what they can do or have done. We've all had to share an office with them, probably have had to be bossed around by them more than we would've liked and as if the raised eyebrows and stifled urges to tell them off aren't enough of a giveaway, they still continue to insist they do everything right and 'flaw' is just another word to describe the little people with which they have absolutely nothing in common. Reading point by point, I came to see that everything illustrated in the course can be found within this very article as they list the components of bettering your boss-self or simply improving on already-good qualities if you haven't landed on somebody's hitlist just yet:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Traits of a great boss,
By Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder


For many people, a cardinal sin is thinking they're perfect. Job seekers think they're not making any job-search mistakes. Employees "always" do the best they can. And bosses are always great.


Right.


Unfortunately, in real life, nobody's perfect -- not even you, Mr. Boss Man. In fact, many bosses assume they're doing a good job at managing their employees when the opposite is the reality.

"Such situations occur frequently, quite simply because the boss does not have accurate feedback," says Sandra Naiman, author of "The High Achiever's Secret Codebook: The Unwritten Rules for Success at Work." "Often, employees don't tell him or her what they really think."

In reality, being a good boss isn't as easy as it sounds. Just because you're the boss doesn't mean that you can tell people what to do and they'll do it, Naiman says. And even if they do, that doesn't make you a good boss.

"The role is really one of supporting and motivating people to do a good job. This means you have to understand what motivates people, be constantly available to them, be a role model and adjust your style to suit each individual direct report," she says.


Here are 12 things that good bosses do, according to Naiman and Vicki Salemi, author of "Big Career in the Big City."

1. Ask employees how you can best support them in doing their job. "This ensures that you are doing your best job to help your employees do theirs," Naiman says.

- Straight from the textbook's pages, a manager is defined as "somebody who directly supervises, supports, & helps activate work efforts to achieve performance goals of individuals, teams and an entire org." If a manager isn't supporting, they shouldn't be managing, the end. They want good results? Show some good and support.



2. Make sure that employees have all the information, resources and support they need to do their job. "It also demonstrates that you see yourself as [being] there to support them," Naiman adds.

- Nobody should sit there and expect his or her employees to have a magic stash of information and resources hidden in an adjacent filing cabinet. If they give them what they need, they'll give the bossman/bosslady what they want. Give them nothing and they're getting nothing in return. Plain and simple. Be there or be square. Be nice or they're not going to be.

3. Give continuous feedback, both positive and constructive. "This helps the employee develop [professionally] and avoids surprises during performance reviews," Naiman says.

-This aspect of sufficient management seems as though it should almost go unsaid. If the manager's employees don't know how their work is coming along, how in the world would they know where they're headed? If they're coming along fine, they should be told. If they're not showing as good of results as the manager would like to see taking place so that the organization maintains its efficient way of business, the employees need to be told or everything's going nowhere fast. Managers of the world, communication is key. Learn it. Love it.

4. Provide opportunities for professional growth. "This lets employees know that you are in their corner," Naiman says.

- Something awful that tends to showcase in many companies is a manager giving their employee that silent implication that a desk-job is all they're good for. Dear manager, let your employees grow. They wouldn't be working for you if they didn't have something good going on upstairs so let them show you what they've got, let them shine. An employee deserves to know that they're good for plenty and with a bigger responsibility comes more confidence which then radiates onto the company in the best way. Happy employees who actually want to work = good.

5. Don't let employees know of your own job concerns or challenges or problems in your personal life. "This prevents employees from feeling that they have to take care of their boss," Naiman says. "A good boss is perceived as competent and there to support his or her employees."

- It's something i've heard from the very beginning of my start of any internships I've taken: leave your problems at the door. That's not to say that an office is no place for a little sympathetic-esque mannerisms but as somebody in charge of managing an entire organization, a manager needs to excel in the art of composure and managing himself/herself before walking through that office door and calling shots. They need to be the stable base of the organization, no wobbly woe-is-me business because the poor employees who have problems of their own won't know what to do with themselves.

6. Create trust. "A good boss is a trusted boss. So, keep promises, follow through on commitments [and] never betray a confidence or talk about others in the organization, except in a favorable way," Naiman says.

- The way i see it, there's nothing worse than working for somebody you can't trust. In a friendship, trust is crucial. In a relationship, trust can determine all. At work, trust can very well be the distinguishing factor of whether employees will actually devote themselves fully to the job or not. Maybe their efforts won't be in a state of flux (or maybe they will) but a manager with a history of lying or breaking promises employees hoped they had an intention of keeping can very well find themselves in situations where all of their subordinates turn against them completely because employees see that they're in the hands of somebody unreliable and untrustworthy. It all comes down to work ethics and general morals: "don't do anything to somebody you wouldn't want somebody to do to you." Even the smallest of white lies is capable of spreading and infecting the entire organization.

7. Show compassion. "Treat employees like they're people. Not employees, but people. If one of your direct reports had a death in the family or even a bad day, be human and compassionate," Salemi says.

-"It's nothing personal, it's just business." That line needs to come with a pamphlet describing when it can and cannot be used. Friends of mine have told me of instances where they needed to immediately take off at least a few days from work for a family emergency yet her boss refused to let any of her story stick, letting it swim straight into one ear and out the other and sent her on her way with a direct claim that he needed her there to make sure business didn't falter. Even the most stern and rigid of managers must have some sort of compassionate bone in their body; if not, that's where the 'lack of respect' comes into play and once a manager's reputation has been tainted with the horrible stench of somebody without a heart who disrespects such personal needs of an employee, it'll take alot more than an apology to get the stain out.

8. Listen. "One of the best traits of a boss is someone who not only goes to the wall for their employees but who also listens to them," Salemi says. "Sometimes team members just need to vent and get things off their chest. A good boss will listen."

-A manager has two ears for a reason and should be utilizing them in the best possible way so that employees find themselves in an environment encouraging open communication. Not to say that tips on insider-trading should be disclosed freely left and right but if an employee is suffering from something that acts as an impairment to their daily functioning at work, at home, etc, a manager shouldn't just be that figure of authority around the place, but rather, a friend, somebody to talk to. Somebody who doesn't judge and knows that every employee is human and thus, bound to have a bad day.

9. Give frequent feedback. "Instead of waiting until an annual performance review to give feedback -- good or bad -- a sign of an excellent boss is proactive behavior," Salemi says. "A fantastic boss will get the most out of his or her employees. Giving positive feedback and acknowledging a job well-done often results in more good work."

- I mentioned it briefly just prior and figured I'd emphasize once more on how crucial any kind of feedback is. An employee wants to know that they're on the right track and if they're not, they want to be re-situated until they are. With that said, everything an employee contributes to the organization should ellicit some form of feedback - positive or negative- from the bossman or bosslady and there should be no later sign of 'Well I had no idea this wasn't coming along the way he/she would've wanted it'..Managers, be proactive, join the party, give your input and expect a better output.

10. Understand your employees' jobs. When you don't completely understand what your employees do or how they do it, it's more difficult to help them navigate their job if they need more resources, Salemi says. "Plus, a good boss should go to bat for his or her employees. If they don't understand the magnitude of their direct reports' job responsibilities, this may be harder to do or convince the higher-ups of their worth."

- This is kind of brought back to the listening aspect of what a good boss should provide for his company. If there is no common ground between employer and employee and there is no open realm of communication to grasp some sort knowledge on both parts, there really is bound to be nothing at all. Not necessarily an implication that a manager should be able to spit back every nook and cranny about his worker's doings in the office, but some sort of understanding as to what the employee may need or find helpful to maintain good performance progress surely shouldn't be any kind of rocket science. This could ultimately transition back into the feedback-element: if a boss really doesn't put forth a great effort in learning what it is that his workers entail to keep up with good work, he can't reiterate what it is that they need to work on or maintain.

11. Live and breathe by the company rules. If you show up late, take long lunches or are not available at certain periods throughout the day, people notice, Salemi says. "Rules aren't just for direct reports to abide by. A good boss will know that their behavior is to be emulated," she says. "If the rules don't apply to them, who should they apply to? A true leader takes this very seriously."

- Something that should be set in stone in every single organization: exhibit A. From what I've encountered or have heard of, bosses seem to be under the impression that since they make the rules, they're exempt from following them. Dream on. A manager is just as responsible for following corporate policy as is every other employee-Jane and Joe, and may as well just climb down from their high-horse now before things get any more out of hand. Personally, I think this trait of many managers just goes to show how low their level of respect is for their entire company and the fact that they really don't seem to care, to be blunt about it, because they are basically the face of the organization: somebody to look up to, an expectation to be one step above the rest so that employees can learn well and benefit. It becomes a vicious chain reaction that could lead to the demise of any company:
Rules don't seem to apply to the boss + The workers decide that these rules shouldn't be applicable to them either = Nothing good can come of this.

12. Acknowledge your employees' work. "Recognize their performance. Even as employees go through a busy season or may be inundated with job sharing in this economy, a good manager will keep them motivated by putting wind in their sails and, more importantly, keep turnover low," Salemi says. "If you have a good boss, you're golden, you won't want to leave. When you know your boss is on your side, it makes a difference in your productivity, morale and overall workplace happiness."

- Even though everybody in the workforce has already graduated from elementary school and knows that their hand is not going to be held while they work just to find out how they're keeping up with corporate standards. Yet, just like anybody else, an employee would like to continuously be given some sort of heads-up or motivation to keep working. A good manager doesn't breathe down employees' necks, per se, always finding something to comment on, one way or another, but an occasional 'good job' or 'maybe you can just try things out this way, it'll make your life a little easier but aside from that, you're set.' It really does go to show how something as simple as a boost in confidence can make all the difference in the world, or at least in the office.