As societies angled towards civilized structures, industrial labor became the main source of income, the new paradigm brought with it new leadership hierarchies. Today, the work environment remains stratified according to responsibilities and at the top of such division of labor exists the bosses. According to Abbajay (2018), the term “boss” has become synonymous with leadership and responsibilities at work stations with the junior and subordinate employees referring to their superiors who are either tasked to oversee their performance as their bosses. Regardless of the vocabulary used as inference to the positions, it is expected of individuals holding positions of responsibility to be custodians of ethics and morals in their work stations (Wickman & Boer, 2016). Based on such expectations, bosses have continuously found themselves in classification tags either as good or bad bosses. The paper discusses qualities of leadership in the work environment that would lead to a trusted leader being considered a bad or a good boss.
A Good Boss
Good bosses are good leaders, their approach and attitude to their work are impeccable, and they prioritize the growth of their junior employees. Abbajay (2018) acknowledges that good leaders exhibit leadership aspects that define how they work with their subordinates. Good bosses are known to inspire, be creative, and engages their subordinates while they perform tasks.
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Inspirational
Every individual needs the inspiration to perform effectively. The ability of a leader to inspire their subordinates to prioritize and find purpose in their work helps in achieving the general objective (Jian & Fairhurst, 2017). As a boss, it is important that subordinate staff working under you feel inspired to work effortlessly in achieving the main objective (Abbajay, 2018). Inspiration requires that a leader motivates and actively participates as a team player in achieving set objectives.
Motivation refers to the ability to foster a close and strong working relationship with colleagues. Good bosses are known to set clear goals among their teams them rally their staff to work towards such targets (Abbajay, 2018). Setting targets allows bosses to create an environment of competitive collaboration where every individual aspires to finish their tasks as a responsibility of helping the general achievement of the team.
Bosses who motivate their staff to ensure that they provide them with the right tools for self-progress. Motivation, in this case, comes in the forms of encouraging staff to learn and be ready to advance their skills for better opportunities. Wickman and Boer (2016) note that it is imperative that you engage your staff on sessions that allow a close exchange of ideas and ways in which you can best improve the performance through continuous learning and growth.
A Team Player
Teamwork is a crucial virtue in optimizing the performance of individuals working as a group. Bosses are either employees or employers seeking to maximize productivity through efficient processes (Wickman & Boer, 2016). Good bosses prioritize teamwork as it allows staff to engage both at personal and intellectual levels. Enforcing teamwork allows staff to familiarize and improve on their strengths while limiting their weakness.
Teamwork established collective responsibility and ensures that all staff members acknowledge their effort in the outcome of the work through setting targets. Good bosses allow their staff to own successes as a team and would be quick on identifying areas of weaknesses. Good leaders are pacesetters and often prioritize targets over volume. Good bosses set realistic and comprehensive targets that ensure that staff remains consistent in their performance while at work.
Innovative
Leadership is about innovative thinking and having the capacity to deliver quality products. Innovation requires a level of creativity that inspires staff to explore alternative faculties in achieving the set objectives (Jian & Fairhurst, 2017). The consistency in innovating new ideas allows staff to employ new insights in tackling tasks. According to Abbajay (2018), good bosses prioritize efficiency over volume and seek to encourage a dynamic working environment where workers ingenuity and creative ideas are appreciated, enabling them to develop.
A Bad Boss
Leaders are different, and depending on their style, can be considered ineffective or effective. Ineffective bosses are referred to as bad bosses. Bad bosses have several standout traits that define their ability to perform their tasks. According to Wickman & Boer, (2016), incompetence is realized through their inability to establish working relationships among staff, lack of strategy in achieving targets, and their perceived big-man syndrome mentality.
Inability to Establish Staff Relationship
Appropriate staff relations remains at the core of business success. Bad bosses often fail to prioritize creating a good rapport with their subordinates and staff, leading to ill-intentioned performance that demoralizes most hard-working member (Wickman & Boer, 2016)s. Demoralized staff often lacks inspiration and purpose in the business objectives leading to underwhelming performance (Abbajay, 2018). Further, lack of close relationship in working environment breads inefficiency as a result of uncoordinated processes. Inefficiencies are a leading cause of increased costs making it impossible for the organization to make headway in its objectives.
Lacking in Strategy
The study Jian & Fairhurst (2017) states that leadership anchors on visionary targets. As leaders bosses who lack an effective strategy of executing tasks to attaining success often fail. Wickman & Boer (2016) states that lack in strategy makes it difficult for bad bosses to realize firm objectives as well as elevate staff to levels of self-progress. Bad leaders are, therefore, considered to stifle growth and hinder the performance of innovative staff members (Abbajay, 2018). Inability to outline strategy often spell failure, and such leaders find it hard to make headway in their attempt to coalesce a team of employees around their ideas.
Perceived big-man mentality
The mentality is crucial in leadership and defines several aspects that include relationships, firm vision, and performance. According to Wickman and Boer (2016), inappropriate mentality breeds negativity as such leaders are considered to harbor inappropriate attitude to realizing success. In most cases, bosses with such mentality feel isolated and unable to rally their teams to perform. In the end, bad bosses with negative mentality failure to connect with their employees lead to failed objectives.
Bosses as leaders are at the core of organizational success, and it remains imperative that they approach their responsibilities with the right mindset. Innovativeness and teamwork are core, and only those administrators who employ them succeed in realizing their objective.
References
Abbajay, M. (2018). Managing Up: How To Move Up, Win At Work, And Succeed With Any Type Of Boss. John Wiley & Sons, John Wiley & Sons,
Jian, G., & Fairhurst, G. T. (2017). Leadership in Organizations. The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication , 1-20.
Wickman, G., & Boer, R. (2016). How to be a great boss . BenBella Books, Inc.
