What makes a good leader? What characteristics do the best managers have and how do they use those skills to get people to not only work harder for them but to want to work harder for them? A recent posting on Yahoo offered up 8 Signs of an Extraordinary Boss
and while all are worth reading (and remembering) three in particular caught my eye.
- Good bosses, who push decision making downward, allowing individuals and teams to go about achieving goals in the manner that they see fit, get far better results. Want to be a better manager? Celebrate your employee’s methods as much as you do their results and watch the numbers add up.
- Lead with your vision. As the article points out too many managers try to intimidate employees into following them. But the best ones sell their vision—along with the critical role each worker plays in helping them get there. Those that do so—“focus” on communication and reinforcing their vision get others to follow and get better results along the way.
- Understand the human dynamic and change. As the article says, “extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life and they know that success is only possible if employees embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business”.
So what does all of this have to do with employee recognition? Plenty. Managers lucky enough to have recognition programs in place—the kind that allow them to reinforce behaviors and show appreciation for efforts—are the ones who are destined to get better, and better, at their craft.