Think of the best bosses you ever worked for. Those supervisors faced challenges similar to yours and conquered them. In fact, great bosses are acutely aware of these five tough realities of management and have a passion for handling them well:
2. Managers push people out of their comfort zones.
3. Managers are routinely caught in the middle.
4. Managers can’t always tell people everything they know.
5. Managers make mistakes.
Let’s look again at each of the challenges and consider the worst and best responses:
Disappointing daily
Do: Assume that building trust with employees is important. You do that every day, letting them know the standards and values that drive your decision-making. If people believe the process by which you make decisions is fair, they can work through their disappointment. Be open to people who push back responsibly, as it can help you learn about the employees’ perceptions and your opportunities to address them.
Pushing people out of their comfort zones
Do: Be smart and persistent. One of my favorite management scholars, Stanford’s Robert Sutton, just published a blog post about research that finds the best bosses are “perfectly assertive,” meaning they are neither overbearing nor wimpy. They know how to tailor their tactics for the person and the situation.
Getting caught in the middle
Do: Be a smart advocate for your staff. Become adept at managing up, a skill that keeps your own bosses in the loop and lets them in on the progress, potential, victories and challenges of your people. Build alliances with fellow managers and make certain your people see themselves as a team, not a silo.
Being unable to communicate completely
Do: Develop a reputation for sharing appropriate information generously. Tell people the kind of info you don’t spread freely: personnel issues, health information that staffers don’t want shared, sensitive business news and bad news before the people most affected by it have a chance to be informed. If you develop a reputation for being a trustworthy communicator, people are much more likely to understand if you say, “I’m sorry, but this isn’t something I can share with you.”
Making mistakes
Do: Develop a reputation for responding effectively to your employees’ mistakes. The way you handle theirs sets a tone for how yours are viewed by your staff. Always apologize sincerely and specifically when you screw up, publicly and privately. Use the lessons of your own mistakes to help yourself and others grow. Leaders can be more effective when they teach from their failures rather than just their victories.
Still think all this is daunting? I know from my work with thousands of managers that each of these challenges can be conquered. In fact, I’ll tell you how employees praise those who do, in today’s podcast: “What Great Bosses Know about Conquering Challenges.”
Poynter’s “What Great Bosses Know” podcast is sponsored by The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. You can download a complete series of these podcasts free on iTunesU. Poynter’s leadership and management expert Jill Geisler shares practical information on leadership and management that’s valuable for bosses in newsrooms and all walks of life.
