How to Be a Better Boss - Insights from Geoffrey James

10 Ways to Be a Better Boss

From InsightSquared and Inspired by Geoffrey James

Geoffrey James writes a widely-read, daily sales column for Inc.com. He has also written several books, such as Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies from the World’s Top Sales Experts, Success Secrets from Silicon Valley, and The Tao of Programming.

We at InsightSquared are big fans of Geoffrey James and regular readers of his blog. We were inspired by several of his sales management blog posts to create this presentation of our 10 favorite management tips.

1. Never vent anger at employees.

Your employees know that you’re human. You get stressed, but that’s never an excuse to let it out on them.

1. Never vent anger at employees.

When you explode at your employees or throw a temper tantrum that negativity will stay with them for the rest of your time working together.

1. Never vent anger at employees.

When you feel yourself getting angry, practice some emotional detachment.

2.Pay more than your competitors.

Give you employees higher than average compensation. You may think that you should minimize pay to save money, but that is not true.

2.Pay more than your competitors.

Good pay will bring good work. Average pay will bring average work. Employees can easily look up what their peers are making, so don’t cheat them.

3. Get a reality check.

Sometimes we can be angry bosses without meaning to be. Other times our comments can be misinterpreted.

3. Get a reality check.

Cultivate a few trusted employees to be your reality checkers. Let them tell you when you are getting out of hand and then listen to them.

4. Email carefully.

It’s hard to pick up on tone in an email. Because of this, you need to be careful how you phrase your correspondences, especially when you are annoyed.

4. Email carefully.

Make sure that you don’t phrase anything in a way that could sound abrupt or angry.

4. Email carefully.

If your colleagues misinterpret your email, it could lead to feelings of resentment or anger.

5. Manage people, not numbers.

Don’t spend all of your time focused on the bottom line.

5. Manage people, not numbers.

Your data is a result of how well you are managing your team.

5. Manage people, not numbers.

The numbers are an important indication of how you are doing, but if you want to change anything you need to work with the people.

6. You are your worst employee.

Managers often make the mistake of measuring their coaching strategy by their highest performer. In fact, they should be doing just the opposite.

6. You are your worst employee.

High performers are likely to be driven by their own motivations, outside of your coaching.

6. You are your worst employee.

Weak performers represent your biggest challenge; if you can help them improve, you are doing well. Plus, they represent the lowest level you will tolerate.

7. Have one priority/employee.

You can’t tell your employees that every task is top priority. They will not be able to guess which one you actually want done first.

7. Have one priority/employee.

Your job as their boss is to tell each employee which task is their top priority so that they can work most efficiently.

8. Apologize for bad behavior.

If you do lose control, atone for it publicly. This will make it clear that you do not tolerate the kind of behavior you displayed.

8. Apologize for bad behavior.

Although it may be hard for your employees to forgive you right away, they will appreciate that you acknowledged your mistake.

9. Protect your team.

Don’t let customers or people inside your company treat your people badly.

9. Protect your team.

If you notice that a customer is treating your team badly, drop them. The business from them is not worth the demoralizing hit to your team.

9. Protect your team.

If you notice your team members being bullied or harassed by people in other departments, don’t let it continue. Talk with their supervisor to stop it.

9. Protect your team.

If your people absolutely have to work with difficult clients or colleagues, consider giving them a bonus to show you appreciate their effort.

10. Take care of yourself.

Do your best to stay healthy. Get enough sleep and take preventative action. If you do get sick, take the day off so that you can recover quickly.

10. Take care of yourself.

You owe it to your team to be on top of your game, which you can’t do if you are sick. Plus, you will be grumpier, less focused, and less efficient.

Thank you for viewing our presentation!

You can visit our website at http://www.insightsquared.com/ and our blog at http://www.insightsquared.com/blog/

Photo Credits“01 100” Courtesy of Victor 1558”“Geoffrey James” Courtesy of Forbes“Yelling Man” Courtesy of Paul Cross“01 (50)” Courtesy of Victor 1558“Money” Courtesy of David Beyer“Felix and Ludwig express manly affection” Courtesy of Very Quiet“Doug on his computer1” Courtesy of Eric Schmuttenmaer“Ludgate Community Managers” Courtesy of Rob Enslin“Frustration” Courtesy of Creative Ignition“Theatertweetup bij Sartre segt sorry van Laura van Dolron” Courtesy of Maurice (Haags Uitburo)“Castle” Courtesy of Dave Stokes“Not well” Courtesy of Jenny Mealing“Salman Ahmad inspires the audience to sing and clap along” Courtesy of M. Elizabeth Williams, Girl + Camera LLC, and TEDx NJLibraries