How to Be a Good Boss

You get promoted. You’re now the boss. Your family is delighted, your friends are impressed (or
jealous.) but you suddenly realize that your company, as with most companies, hasn’t given you
much guidance in what to do next: How to be a good boss, rather than just “the” boss. And how
to ensure that the people who work for you are gratified in their jobs, which in turn will make
your job as their supervisor that much easier.

India Real Time canvassed experts in human resources to find out key attributes of what makes a
good manager and what pitfalls to avoid. Here is their advice.

CMCD

Coherent Communication: You are the team leader, the person responsible for delegating work
to your subordinates and ensuring that the larger goals of the company are met. So the first step
is, simply, making that clear by communicating coherently.

In the hurly-burly of daily office life, it is surprising how often this basic requirement can be
overlooked. Communicate in person as much as possible, by email only if you have to. And
make sure you are specific in setting expectations for single employees as well as the team.

“To be a good manager, it is very important to articulate the expectations at an individual level as
well as at the team level. It is important for the manager to set the context right and explain what
all is expected to achieve that task,” says Neetasha Joshi, senior vice president of HR and
training and development at Tata AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Appreciate and Criticize: Praise and other feedback are an integral part of a manager’s
communication with a team. The way both are dealt with makes all the difference.

“A pat on the back should be done in front of everyone. But punching in the ribs should be done
privately,” says Rajita Singh, head of human resources at Broadbridge Financial Solutions
(India) Pvt. Ltd., an outsourcing firm.

A manager should also take note of the effort involved in completing a task and not just the
result.

“Appreciation alone of achieving the target is not enough,” says Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning
officer at Wipro Ltd. “A good manager will also acknowledge the effort put in to achieve the
result.”

Remember that however frustrated you may be, or however justified you may feel in yelling
openly, the effect of your critical words on an employee could be very harmful – going far
beyond what you intended — and be counter-productive.
Learn to Listen: As the boss, it’s tempting to think your role is to be authoritative and bark
orders. Leave that to the military. Instead, listen to what the team has to say as you make your
decision. Once it’s made, it’s good to be decisive. But not garnering input in advance runs the
risk that your decisiveness will backfire.

“Listening to your subordinates/team encourages and motivates them. It leads to a sense of

purpose as well as a sense of belonging in your team members,” says Sumit Mitra, executive
vice-president corporate human resources at Godrej Industries & Associate Companies.

Walk the Talk: As a manager, don’t think that you are the one watching the team, the team is
watching you. So set an example and follow your own rules.

“If there is a rule of not carrying your cell phones to a meeting then a manager must not,
however important his phone might be,” says Suhas Kadlaskar, director of corporate affairs and
human resources at Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd.

That includes taking responsibility, as you would like employees to take responsibility, when
there are errors.

“A good manager will always take responsibility and not pass the buck by saying his team did
not perform well” he says. “A good manager is the one who makes a dysfunctional team
functional.”

Leading from the front also is important. “A good manager will always know when his team
needs that morale booster and will provide it by not just praising or by a pep talk but at times by
demonstrating the work to them himself,” says Ms. Joshi.

Stop short, though, of doing so much that you effectively do people’s jobs for them. That is de-
motivating.

“Keep in mind to think and act in a controlled manner,” says Ganesh Shermon, partner and
country head in the People & Change Practice at KPMG Advisory. “Never do it to the extent
where the person stops thinking for himself.”

Be Friendly but Not Necessarily Friends: It is tempting, especially for new managers, to try to
win over their employees by acting as a friend rather than a boss. The BBC has made a whole hit
comedy series out of this misguided effort. Instead, be friendly and approachable but keep
enough distance that no-one in the office feels left out and so you have sufficient room should
you need to take disciplinary action against an employee.

This is the part most managers dread most. And it is almost always tough. But it’s made harder if
there is a genuine friendship involved, too. If you do have to fire an employee, do so within the
processes established by the company: If it is a dismissal for performance reasons, it should be
preceded by warnings and an escalating series of steps designed to right the employee’s
trajectory.
“A manager has to be fair and firm to ensure that the performance of an individual does not drop
below expectation level. In such a situation you can work with the person, support him/her to
make things work, but also ensure that you as a manager cannot take up and fulfill those
responsibilities,” says Pritpal Singh Kular, director of human resources at Max Bupa Health
Insurance Co. Ltd. “Discussion is important to make the person understand the gravity of the
situation.”