How to Be a Great Boss

aptitude, or the natural ability for something. An intuitive feel or grasp of what the job is, how it works, and how to do it. Natural feel, biochemistry. One great boss demonstrated that he had the intuitive feel for the job when, as general manager, he was deployed by a national retailer to turn around one of its worst-performing stores. After careful analysis, the company had decided to close the worst of their outlets. On that list was a store that had them baffled. Although it was located in an area with plenty of traffic and great visibility, it continually lagged behind other stores in the system. In a last-ditch effort to turn things around, the company placed this great boss—a manager who gets it—in charge of the store. Several weeks later, the store's sales were making steady upward progress, which delayed the decision to close it. Within a few months, the store was one of the top performers in the system, amazingly with very little turnover and no additional cost. When asked how he had accomplished the feat, the manager replied that he simply asked each employee whether he or she was a box person or a people person. He explained that a box person is well organized and great at keeping things in their place, whereas a people person enjoys engaging customers and meeting their needs. He then assigned people in each group appropriately, allowing them to leverage their individual strengths. This is a good example of a boss who truly gets it. That natural aptitude and ability is fundamental to being a boss. No public relations or marketing efforts in the world would have made a difference in keeping that store open. It required someone who got how to lead and manage people in a big-box retail store. Now, with this story in mind, are your actions as a boss showing others that you truly get it? For instance, do you use the same approach to motivate every employee, or do you have a deeper understanding and appreciation of them as individuals? Do you have that instinctive feel for rallying everyone according to the way they work best? Imagine how your employees would describe you to their friends or fellow workers. What would they say? Next, you must ask yourself if you truly want it, that you genuinely desire the job of being a great boss. No one talked you into it or begged you to take it. No one promised you a raise, a bonus, or a company car to entice you. You might have a bad day or two, that's normal, but the challenges and obstacles energize you. You enjoy overcoming those obstacles. They don't wear you down. One of our clients described a former boss who would occasionally ask mid-level managers, who he suspected didn't want it, do you have the fire in your belly to lead? In almost every case, that person would answer yes. He followed that question with this statement, you are telling me you want to lead, but you're not showing me. This served as a wake-up call for those managers, a friendly tap on the shoulder to remind them that their actions needed to follow words. John Eady, founding partner of Covenant Multifamily Offices in San Antonio, Texas, says this about wanting it, I have had the benefit of great teaching and training throughout my career, but I've come to realize that even when people receive great training and have great mentors, unless they really want it, those things likely will not stick. It's gratifying to work with people who truly want it and are willing to put in the effort necessary to achieve it. So do you have the fire in your belly for the trials and tribulations of being a great boss? Do your actions show others that you truly want it? As an example, are you willing to go the extra mile to get a project completed on time, or do you leave work early regardless of how it affects your team or customers? Again, imagine how your employees would describe you to their friends or fellow workers. What would they say? The fact is that many bosses really don't get it or want it, yet both are crucial. Think about it. You can absolutely get the role of being a boss, but just not want it. Or you could want it with all your heart and soul, but just not get it. In either scenario, you'll never be a great boss. You must get it and want it. Assuming that you get it and you want it, the next question is, do you have the capacity to do it? Understanding capacity to do it. While not getting it or wanting it are deal killers, some problems of capacity can be solved.