A Guide To What Good Bosses Do

Effective leaders provide energy to their people. Staff are enthused by their work and the value attached to their roles.

How do you be the sort of boss who provides energy to people? The single key ingredient is that you place a priority on your people. And you demonstrate this priority by the way you spend your time - the activities you rate as important. You spend time on the host of people-related activities that are required in your job.

Here are some tips on the people-related activities required in your role as a leader. Use this list as a checklist to plan the way you demonstrate the value you attached to people, and the effect you have on people, and their energy and output. Team members will do amazing things in their role when they know they work for an enthusiastic boss who values them.

Recruiting

• Gives quality time to recruiters involved in recruiting
• Always on time for interviews
• Considers an interview a two-way discussion - knows that the candidate will be making assessments about the role, as much as the interviewer will be making an assessment of candidates
• Prompt in follow-up after an interview
• Prompt with any offer of employment

On-Boarding

• Invites a new employee to any team events prior to employment
• Creates an opportunity for the new team member to visit the department prior to their start date
• On the first day of the new person's employment, makes time to spend with the person
• Briefs the new person on the organisation, the department and the new person's role
• Briefs the new person on the mission of the department, and the importance of the new person's role
• Briefs the new person on the value and behaviour important to the boss
• Briefs the new person on why they got the job, for example, "What really impressed me about you and your background is your management of complex projects, and the way you relate to customers. These will be really important in your new role…"
• Uses the on-boarding process as an opportunity to establish the dimensions of success in the role, the department and the organisation

New Team Member

• Assists the new person feel part of the team quickly
• Organises morning tea on the person's first day to welcome them to the team
• Ensures other team members get to know the skills and background of the new person, and vice versa
• Plans an active first day and first week so the person feels included and productive
• Knows the new person will go home that first night and be asked, "How was your first day?" The boss manages the first day and knows the response will be, "Great! I really made the right decisions to join this organisation."
• Creates an early productive assignment for the new person

Setting Direction for the Department

• Provides link from the purpose of the organisation to the purpose of the department
• Conducts regular planning sessions of the department (usually annually) so team members see the context in which they are all operating and can see where their role fits
• Prepares a simple mission summary from the planning sessions
• Assists people with individual goals linked to the purpose of the department

Communicating

• Holds regular team meetings so that people have context of the activities of their colleagues and people "know what's going on"
• Holds regular one-on-one reviews with direct reports - to demonstrate value of the persons role, to provide an opportunity for the boss to assist the individual and for the individual to raise any issues or subjects (that might not otherwise be raised if scheduled meetings were not held)
• Makes a point of being in contact with team members regularly, especially if the team members are in another location

Resources and Support

• Provides necessary resources for people to be successful
• Is in touch with people and can recognise if people are struggling or under-resourced and does something about it
• Plans major projects so that demands on people are managed
• Supports the team and team members in front of others
• Is an advocate for their team and for team members

Performance Reviews

• Establishes clear goals for individuals at the beginning of the review period (usually annually) so the boss and the individual knows what success looks like
• Reviews goals and progress regularly , at least quarterly
• Sets time for annual reviews - enough time so that a quality discussion is held
• Plans the annual review discussion so that the message of the review is achieved - usually to communicate the value attached to the person and the role they are doing
• Uses the annual review as a sharing and development discussions, more than a "judging" discussion by the boss of the individual
• Spends most of the time during appraisals on positives and recognising/building on people's strengths. Gets people to identify and explore their weaknesses and how the boss can help them
• Knows that the person will go home the night of their review and when they walk in the front door will be asked, "How was your appraisal today?" The boss has managed the review so that the answer is how the boss wants it to be.

Manages Poor Performers

• Treats as a priority to be managed any team member who is performing poorly or having a negative impact on other team members
• Provides early feedback to the "poor performer" about what needs to change and the choices the person is making
• Gives the poor performer the opportunity to improve
• Ultimately, is prepared to manage the person out of the organisation to protect the culture of the team and the productivity of others

Recognition and Appreciation

• Looks for opportunities to acknowledge people's work
• Gives people opportunities to take on challenging assignments, and then supports them to succeed
• Uses the organisation's formal recognition programs (e.g. awards, dinner-for-two etc)
• Organises celebrations for significant team achievements
• Often says "thank you" to people for something the person has done well

Pay Reviews

• Conducts pay reviews in a careful way
• Ensures the "message" of the pay review is consistent with other messages to the person
• Ensures that pay reviews are fair across the team
• Is considered to be a generous boss, and gets a generous effort from staff in return
• Knows that the person will go home the night of their pay review and walk in the front door saying, "Today I had my pay review..." The boss has filled in the dots by the way they conducted the pay review

Learning and Career Development

• Supports people in their career goals
• Asks direct reports, "What do you most want to learn or achieve this year", and helps them achieve that goal
• Has direct reports set learning and development goals for the year
• Ensures other managers reporting to them do the same thing with their reports
• Provides appropriate funds for education
• Supports people towards roles and experiences the individual wants, even if this is not in the short-term interests of the boss (such as supporting a person who wants to move to another department)
• Wants the person to say about the boss, "I was really lucky working for you - you really helped me in my development and my career."

Social Events

• Knows that social interaction is important for many team members, even if it is not important to the boss
• Delegates a team member to be responsible for social activities
• Celebrates birthdays and other special events (for example, with a morning tea)