3 Characteristics of Good Bosses that Employees Want to Work For (According to FastCompany Magazine)

FastCompany recently released an article with the above title, but it doesn’t go into any mechanics for how to actually become a “Good Boss,” or how to cultivate the three qualities they highlight. So I thought I’d do that here. 

Below are the top 3 characteristics good leaders exhibit from FastCompany’s research, but with actionable commentary from me about how to do it…

Clear Communication

It’s better to be clear than cute. I sometimes get lost in wordsmithing something I think it clever and miss the fact that it isn’t clear or sticky or relevant to my audience. It’s always better to be clear. 

Here’s how to actually become a better communicator. 

1. Put yourself in their shoes. How will they hear this? What’s going on, contextually, that I need to be sensitive to? 
2. Ask, Can I make this simpler? Make it simple. Pretend you’re explaining it to your 8th grade son or niece. Keep it short and simple. 
3. Kill acronyms and insider language. Someone is new and doesn’t get the lingo. Someone speaks English as a second language and won’t understand that reference. Don’t assume; include. 
4. Choose clarity despite uncertainty. In the absence of certainty, still communicate clearly. People want you to promise them safety and security and that things will stay the same and never change. They want certainty, which you cannot give them. Instead, give them clarity. “I don’t know exactly how everything will play out months from now, but here’s what we do know and how we will continue to do what we do…”

Compassionate Human-Centered Focus

That’s code for, care. Or, as a client of mine says, “Give a shit.”

And that doesn’t mean buying Starbucks gift cards for birthdays. I’ll show you how, but the WHY is simple: people are the main thing. If there aren’t people to serve, there’s no business. And if there aren’t people to serve the people, there’s no business. 

Your people will invest when they feel invested in. They’ll care about your customers when they feel cared for. 

Still, that’s ambiguous, so here’s what you do:

1. Meet with your key staff one-on-one, 30 minutes or less. 
2. Ask them the following questions:
   1. How’s your experience been working here? 
   2. What’s your biggest challenge? How can I help? 
   3. What’s the most painful thing you’ve been through in your life? 
   4. What’s your most important goal, vision, or hope for your future?
   5. Is there anything else you want to tell me?  
3. Do something with the information—honor their answers. 
   1. Get a barrier out of their way. 
   2. Give them an opportunity to grow or try something new.
   3. Show more compassion because you know their pain. 
   4. Help them see how their vision for their life connects to company’s success. 
4. Be more present (but don’t add meetings). 

Five minutes focusing your full, undivided attention on someone wins you months of loyalty. It’s way more valuable than an hour-long meeting dealing with business and measurables. Those meetings are important, too, but you only need one of those per week. Don’t add more meetings, just be more present. And honor the personal information that your people entrust to you. Treat it like gold. Because, as you know, loyal, hard-working, passionate people are worth their weight in gold. 

Realistic Expectations

Again, these three characteristics are directly from FastCompany’s article by a similar title. I’m just giving you the deeper WHY, along with the HOW to actually become a such a Leader. 

There’s key to understand before we can think about “realistic expectations” actually are. That key is this: 

Know your people. 

Each person has different gifts, talents, abilities, etc. They have different capacities. Your expectation for one person will be different for someone else, and that’s ok. We’re not worried about being fair. We’re interested in being effective. 

Don’t miss this: 

The only way to have realistic expectations of a key team member is to understand how they think and how hard they push themselves. 

A hard-charging-work-horse-people-pleaser employee will have expectations of themselves that might be unrealistically high. Then, they get discouraged and beat themselves up when they fall short, negatively impacting their energy and momentum. 

This employee needs to be reigned in and you may have to slightly reduce the short-term goals for longer term sustainable success. 

Then, 

A more tempered-understated-less-obsessive staff member will under-sell what they are capable of achieving. They like to play it safe and over-achieve, so the expectations aren’t stressfully high. 

This employee needs to be pushed a little past their comfort zone. Increase the “realistic expectation” just beyond their desired level. 

Realistic expectations are managed differently for different people. The fundamental to getting this right is to understand the person you’re dealing with and how to mobilize and motivate them. This requires actually getting to know them and caring about them. (See point 2 above.)

Conclusion

According to FastCompany, 3 important characteristics of Good Bosses who will lead others well in our changing world are, 

• Clear Communication
• Compassionate Human-Centered Focus
• Realistic Expectations

The Leader Club exists, not just to inform, to help you become such a leader. Reach out if we can help you take your next steps. [email protected]