WHAT GREAT BOSSES NEVER DO

5 Things Great Bosses Never Do
By Jeff Haden | August 8, 2011
from bnet.com

What you don’t do can make as much or sometimes more impact than what you actually do — and can also say a lot about your leadership style and abilities as a manager.

Here are five things great leaders never do:

Deliver annual performance reviews. Annual or semi-annual appraisals waste everyone’s time. Years ago my review was late, so I mentioned it to my boss. He said, “I’ll get to it… but you realize you won’t learn a thing. You’ve already heard everything I will say, good or bad. If anything on your review comes as a surprise to you I haven’t done my job.” He was right. The best feedback isn’t scheduled; the best feedback happens on the spot when it makes the most impact, either as praise and encouragement or as training and suggestions for improvement. Waiting for a scheduled review is the lazy way out. Your job is to coach and mentor and develop — every day.

Say, “Look… I’ve been meaning to apologize…” Apologies should be made on the spot, every time. You should never need to apologize for not having apologized sooner. When you mess up, ‘fess up. Right away. Don’t you want employees to immediately tell you when they make a mistake? Model the same behavior.

Hold meetings to solicit ideas. Many companies hold brainstorming sessions to solicit ideas for improvement, especially when times get tough. Sounds great — after all, you’re “engaging employees” and “valuing their contributions,” right? But you don’t need a meeting to get input. When employees know you listen they often bring ideas to you. Plus, the better way to ask for ideas is to talk to people individually and to be more specific. Say, “I wish we could find a way to get orders through our system faster. What would you change if you were me?” Trust me: Employees picture themselves doing your job — and doing your job better — all the time. They have ideas. Be open, act on good ideas, explain why less than good ideas aren’t feasible… and you’ll get all the input you can handle.

Create development plans. Development plans are, like annual performance reviews, largely a corporate construct. (HR staffers love to monitor compliance and alert managers when supervisors are late turning in their employees’ development plans. Or maybe that’s just my experience.) You should know what each of your employees hopes to achieve: Skills and experience they want to gain, career paths they hope to take, etc. So talk about it — informally. Assign projects that fit. Provide training that fits. Create opportunities that fit. Then give feedback on the spot. “Develop” is a verb that requires action; “development” is a noun that sits in a file cabinet.

Call in favors. I know lots of bosses who play the guilt game, like saying, “John, I’ve been very flexible with your schedule the last few months while your wife was sick… now I really need you to come through for me and work this weekend…” Generosity should always be a one-way street. Be flexible when it’s the right thing to do. Be accommodating when it’s the right thing to do. Never lend money to friends unless you don’t care if you are repaid, and never do “favors” for employees in anticipation of return. As a leader, only give — never take.

MY THOUGHTS

I hope you got the point?

I don't think the article is saying there's no need for appraisals. There is. Except a successful bosses don't provide appraisals only when it is required by HR. Measuring performance is ongoing. So is giving feedback. One of the rules in conducting performance appraisals is that there should be no surprises. Meaning, your staff should know how you see his/her work with or without the formal appraisal. Coaching, training, mentoring should be provided so the staff is likely to get a better appraisal rating.

I also agree that there is no need for development plans. If the boss is doing his job. As a training practitioner, I require and monitor development plans because without them, no development will ever take place.

And meetings! Entirely correct. Exchange of ideas should be a regular ongoing thing.

What I liked most about this article are the thoughts presented about apologizing and giving favors. Absolutely true. Timing is very important when saying sorry. And helping should be done in the context of caring for your staff. Not because you want something in return.