Are You a Good Boss? How to Tell if Your Team Admires and Respects You

Movies like 9 to 5, Office Space and Horrible Bosses shed an uncomfortable light on what employees really think about their scary superiors.

Answer the following questions and decide once and for all, are you a good boss?

Do I know how to delegate?

Delegating is a skill that all business owners need to master at one point in their career. You don’t want your employees to feel like you’re constantly micromanaging them. So if you’re a perfectionist that is trying to control every nuance of your company’s inner workings, you need to learn how to take a step back.

Your team wants to feel guided, not controlled. If you have trouble delegating certain tasks you may want to commit to an intense training program. Take the time to provide one-on-one training when it comes to performing certain duties and responsibilities. This will ensure that you feel comfortable handing over the menial work and that your employee is properly equipped to handle the job.  

Do I treat all employees the same?

Let’s say Tom comes into your office and asks you for Friday off. You say no because you really need the coverage. A few moments later, Mary comes into your office and makes the same request. If you let Mary take the day off, Tom will hear about the difference in treatment and will resent you for it. 

Double standards should never make its way in your office politics. All your employees need to be treated equally, period the end. If you dole out preferential treatment, you’re sure to affect your entire office’s morale. If your employee morale takes a dive, your office productivity will as well.

Do I communicate well with my team?

Communication is key if you want to become a great leader within your organization. Knowing how to effectively communicate will eliminate misunderstandings; form unified goals; and foster honest relationships within the workplace.

Being a great communicator will allow your employees to:

• • Become inspired and invigorated to be a part of the company.
• • Work efficiently because they understand their roles, duties and responsibilities.
• • Feel understood and appreciated when their hard work is acknowledged.
• • Continue to grow and learn from constructive performance reviews.
• • Appreciate an open and honest workplace you’ve created for them.

Successful CEOs and leaders know that there’s more to communication than talking. Actively listening to your team is just as important as delivering messages. Practice an open-door policy with everyone on your payroll. Gain your staff’s trust and you’ll be alerted before smaller conflicts become serious issues. Be the boss that your employees turn to when they see a problem within your organization.

Do I personally hire all supervisors?

In a recent survey, Gallup shared that, “82% of the time, companies fail to hire a manager with the right talent for the job. This inability to properly hire supervisors and managers leads to 50% of U.S. workers quitting; citing poor management.” 

As the chief officer of your company, you should be directly involved in hiring all managerial and supervisorial positions. Your team leaders help you deliver instructions, visions and goals to your entire staff. You’ve got to be certain that you hire the right individuals that are best suited to supersize your ongoing projects. 

Since your managerial team speaks to your employees daily, it’s important that they understand how to bring your vision to reality. If you give your team top leaders to work with, you’ll inevitably boost employee morale across the board. Create a company culture that you’re proud of and your team will admire and respect your efforts.

Do I offer performance incentives?

So, are you a good boss? Still trying to gauge how high your team rates your leadership skills? One sure way to understand how your employees feel about you as their boss is to take a closer look at your employee benefits packages.

• Raises and Bonuses 

Perform performance reviews frequently so you can let your employees know what they need to focus on if they’d like a raise in their salary. Consider starting a bonus program for your staff. Offering a tier-bonus incentive will give your superstar employees a little something extra for their extra efforts.   

• Promotions and Accolades

More money, although appreciated, isn’t always the type of incentive your employee is looking for. Employees that are looking to grow within the company will respond well to in-house promotions and other opportunities that further their career. Receiving awards and recognition for a job well done is another incentive you should implement. “43% of employees polled said they quit their jobs due to a lack of recognition for their efforts.”

• Paid Time Off

Does your business offer an acceptable amount of sick, vacation and personal days in your benefits package? Good bosses realize that their employees have a life outside of the office and as such, they encourage a healthy work-life balance.   

• Creative Rewards 

We’re not saying you have to provide daily celebrations for everyday tasks that get accomplished. But if your sales team is having a killer month, reward them with gourmet coffee in the breakroom. If an employee went out of their way to help a customer, give them a subscription to their favorite magazine. If your administrative support team provided exceptional help with a big project, bring in a chair masseuse as a reward.

Be creative when creating performance incentives. You want to let your staff know that you notice and appreciate the extra work they’re producing.

Is my company’s turnover rate low? 

Last, but not least, you can easily determine if you are you a good boss by simply examining your business’s turnover rate history. Break down your turnover rate into an annual number, starting with the first year you started your business and hired support. Make note of any patterns and dramatic increases or decreases in total terminations.  

If you find that the majority of your staff are long-term employees, you’re doing something very right. If your turnover rate is a little higher than you’d like, check out our article: 10 Reasons Your Best Employees Are Leaving and What to Do.  

How did you do? Are you a good boss?

Being the leader is a tough job but if you’re able to answer “Yes” to all of the questions above, your employees definitely respect and admire you as their boss. If you had to answer “No” to some of the questions, we hope we’ve inspired you on ways to change for the betterment of your company.