Do you want to be a great boss?

If you have dealt with an annoying or aggravating boss earlier in your life than you should avoid becoming one yourself. But unless you try to overcome the following shortcomings, you can hardly be a good boss.

Bad bosses only stick to what they know: You agree or not , it is true. We all feel comfortable on our particular domain. For example, a sales person will tend to spend most of his/ her time on sales issues, marketing strategies and cash flow than on technical subjects, product developments or on operations. In short, you view the world (your business in this case) through your own lens and, as a result, the other critical areas and issues of your business are often ignored.

Worse still, you will tend to over-manage your particular domain of expertise. But for a successful business as well as to be a good manager, you need to give equal importance and focus to all segments of business. You have great products, but it’s of no use if you fail to sell them. Similarly, your strategic marketing sense and expansion into new territories need to be well financed. It is not that you won’t indulge into your primary skill or interest at all, but don’t left aspects of your business wanting.

You can’t accept your ignorance: Accept it; it’s not possible for a person to know everything. Put it this way – what you don’t know you don’t know. In most cases it is  the pride or ego that comes in your way of acceptance. As a result, you tend to get defensive when you are unsure or someone challenges your ignorance   on a subject  However, a simple acceptance can save a lot of your time and energy as well as your reputation. To model the behavior of your employees, you need to set an example first. The best way to learn is to –accept your ignorance or if you are wrong, admit you don’t know the answer, ask questions and actively seek experiences of people who have the required knowledge and expertise.

You act only on your observation: We only have two eyes and two ears! And it is so normal for us to miss out things happening in and around your business. Bad bosses act only on what they observe, and in most cases, they fail to see the bigger picture. The solution here is – don’t stick too closely to the facts you know or believe to be true. Rather, stretch yourself and venture into unfamiliar  areas.

Even if you are a technical person, go for sales calls, get feedback about different aspects of your business from your team members, and sit with the accountant and get a thorough analysis of your current financial situation. This will help you to see more than you generally see and you can act accordingly to give a better shape to your business.