Are You Hard to Work For?
| Nobody wants to be a bad boss. Here are a few questions to help you assess whether you might be hard to work for. * Are your standards unrealistic? Expecting excellence isn’t a bad thing. But if your standards are too high, you’re setting your team (and yourself) up to fail. Consider whether you have perfectionist habits that frequently impact your team. Ask them for feedback about what they need to do their work effectively—and listen. * Are you a micromanager? Do you tell your employees exactly how things should be done, leaving no room for creativity or initiative? If so, shift your focus to outcomes. You can provide feedback and guidance along the way, but leave the process and execution to your team. In other words, don’t do the work for them. * Do you only delegate busywork? Everyone wants to grow, and if you raise the bar and let go of a little control, you will be surprised by how people respond. Use delegation as a tool for development. * Is your feedback overly negative? Aim for a 6:1 ratio of positive to negative feedback. If you don’t often deliver positive feedback, start by acknowledging your employees’ strengths and successes in a specific and timely way. |
| This tip is adapted from “Are You a Difficult Person to Work For?,” by Tutti Taygerly and Luis Velasquez |
