Figuring out if you are a fantastic boss or not can be tricky. Here are some questions to ask yourself when getting real about whether or not you are. Answer them yourself AND give them to your staff – I dare you! You will learn a lot about yourself.
Do you willingly and proactively lend a hand during busy or stressful periods without hesitation or drama?
Do you display any form of favoritism among individuals or teams?
Do you give regular and sincere verbal recognition?
Are you a genius at spotting things that deserve verbal recognition?
Do you back your staff and their decisions no matter what?
Do you show them how much you value them with rewards when they deserve a special thank you?
Are you more likely to do a messy/dirty job yourself or delegate it to someone else?
Are you totally free of BS? (Translation=B*llsh*t)
Do you have a positive contagious energy that brings fun to the workplace?
Do you always share credit with the team?
Are you understanding about the need to do some personal tasks during work time?
Are you willing to explore flexible options (i.e. hours, R+R, benefits, study) without freaking out and being rigid?
Do you make decisions with confidence and vision (without ‘dilly dallying’)?
Do you keep everyone constantly in the know about ‘what’s going on around here’?
Do you keep everyone constantly informed about mission, strategy and goals?
Do you make efforts to fully utilize the skills each individual has accumulated over their lifetime?
Are you great at keeping the vision alive in a memorable way daily?
Have you got a fine tuned personal understanding of what leadership and management is and requires?
Are all meetings on task and worthwhile?
Do you have a servant’s heart (knowing that the boss is there to serve the staff not vice versa)?
Are you doing all you can to break ‘stress habits’ and not just accepting it as the ‘norm’ of how things are done in your work/industry?
Do you sweat the small stuff and nip tension in the bud?
Do you have zero tolerance for senseless moaning and complaining (and encourage powerful solutions thinking instead)?
Are you guilty of grounding workers (withholding praise for fear they will get too big for their boots)?
Do you frequently seek staff ideas i.e. meetings, surveys, 1x1s and use the ideas not just pay lip service?
Do you have an attitude of ‘I know best’ over staff or do you know that team opinion matters?
Do you hold back any secrets that staff find out about via gossip at water cooler?
Are you drunk on authority – frequently reminding everyone who is boss?
Are you fast to sort out any bullying? You aren’t the bully are you?
Do you have a ‘no a**hole rule’? (see www.bobsutton.typepad.com – there is an amazing book about this).
Are you keen to dish out responsibility, develop the team and show you trust your team?
Are you not scared to see ‘the yuck’ and address the weakest parts of the business?
Do you always put workers first (even before customers)?
Are you unafraid of facing your own faults and addressing them?
Are you secure enough to get your staff to answer this boss quiz anonymously to hear their thoughts on you (and not be defensive when reading the results)?
