Working Wounded: Bossing Effectively

Nov. 11, 2005 — -- DEAR WOUNDED: I really want to be a better boss than the ones I had earlier in my career. How can I do a better job?

ANSWER: Daniel Dady's defense when he was accused of stealing $150,000 in jewelry? He didn't need the money since he'd just inherited $30,000. This argument didn't sway the judge and Dady got four-and-a-half years. Interestingly, the judge didn't know about the inheritance and ordered Dady to hand it over to his victims as partial restitution.

As bosses many of us cling to our "inheritance" of expertise and experiences. I believe today this isn't good enough, we've got to be adding skills and improving continuously. I've listed areas to focus on, below. For more, check out "What Every New Manager Needs to Know" by Gerard Gaynor (Amacom, 2004).

Are you a good administrator? This is one of the dullest and most overlooked aspects of being a boss. Mission and vision are important to a department, but it's the little things that impact the day-to-day lives of workers. Focus on the little stuff and you'll reap the benefits.

Do you give direction well? I can't tell you how many times I've seen a boss lead the troops up the wrong hill. Or into the wrong battle. It's very important for the boss to be able to communicate simply, clearly and effectively. How do you know if you are communicating well? Ask people to repeat back to you your directions in their own words.

Are you a leader? Leadership is tough. But don't take my word for it -- how many great leaders have you come across in your career? Leadership takes vision, clarity, insight and guts. The best way to learn this skill? Ask the leader you most respect to mentor you.

Do you respect your people? Respect is a two-way street. If you give it, chances are you'll get it back many times over.

Do you act? Talk is cheap. Analysis is important, but there comes a time when leaders must act. Examples include firing an employee who is causing problems and launching a new initiative even though all of the research results aren't yet available. The time to act is often before you are totally ready.

Do you reduce anxiety? According to a WorkingWounded/ABCNEWS.com survey, 25 percent of employees report that they are angry at work. There are a lot of strong emotions at work today, and it's important for the person in charge to acknowledge them and act in a way that reduces unnecessary tension.

Do you accept your impact on the rest of the organization? Bosses need to understand that employees pay extraordinary attention to the boss. People study you and constantly talk about you. So you need to understand that like it or not, you are a role model for the business.

Mr. Dady lost his inheritance and maybe it's time for you to lose yours to focus on developing new skills to make you a more effective boss.

We'd like to hear your strategy for being a better boss. I'll give an autographed copy of "Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury" (Warner, 2000) to the best submission. Send your entry, name & address via: http://workingwounded.com or via e-mail: bob@workingwounded.com. Entries must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot:

Our winning strategy for a successful career comes from B.T. in Bremerton, Wash.:

"The key to a successful career is to always have a contingency plan. Because when you have something to fall back on that you know you can support yourself with, you can take more risks and end up with something that you really want to do. So I always play to angles, my main goal and my backup plan. It's worked like a charm for me."

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. His newest best seller, "Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide" (Wiley, 2004), is a business comic book that trades cynicism for solutions. Ask Bob a question: bob@workingwounded.com or http://graymattersbook.com.

This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.