BOSS STAND UP

Our evening took an intellectual turn, when amidst the chatter about the week (all the incidents and dramas), Zee exclaimed ‘I hate that Boss of mine’. The silence that followed was deafening. Zee barely ever speaks when we hangout, she just smiles and sips her favourite Chapman.

‘Him harass you?’ asked Annie as her face lit up, set for trouble.

‘No he dint’.

‘Then what happened? I thought your Boss was better than all our bosses combined?’ BG asked.

‘I thought so too until he started messing up and being all autocratic’.

‘Hmm, these bosses sef, I don’t know what they think’ I chipped in.

‘But seriously, who and what should a good boss be?’ Funmi asked.

‘Ask google joor’ Annie retorted sharply.

‘What’s your own sef? She asked a valid question’ BG came to Funmi’s rescue.

‘So what do we know and what can Google or anyone tell us about being a Boss and what works best from the employee’s perspective?’ Zee sounded interested.

‘We are lucky to have a Google witch amidst us.  Over to you  Bose’ I said tapping her.

‘Your name kuku sound like BOSS’ Annie added.

‘Hahaha, I hear. So we are talking about being a Boss and what works best from the employee’s perspective, right?’ she asked.

‘Yes!’ we all chorused.

‘Ok’

WHO IS A BOSS?

A Boss is an individual that is usually the immediate supervisor of some number of employees and has certain capacities and responsibilities to make decisions. The term itself is not a formal title, and is sometimes used to refer to any higher level employee in a company, including a supervisor, manager, director, or the CEO(www.businessdictionary.com/definition/boss.html)

‘So whats the difference between a Boss and a Leader?’ BG asked thoughtfully.

‘Let me try’ I said quickly. ‘Some people try to make the distinction between being a Leader and being a Boss, but a Boss is a Leader, that’s all I know ooo. I am no expert.We are all brainstorming here, abi?’

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FROM A BOSS?

A Boss answers:

What am I doing to empower people?

As a Boss, your most important asset is your influence, said Richard Lorenzen, CEO of Fifth Avenue Brands. You influence employees by empowering them to do their jobs better, this is a wonderful motivation tool. Empowerment can also be in form of sharing information, sincerity and transparency in your dealings with every employee. Lack of information or misinformation builds up tension and problems that information sharing dissipates if used properly.

How am I affecting my employees’ experience?

“A Boss can evolve only by learning how his or her plans, decisions and actions impact the employee experience,” S. Chris Edmonds, founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group and author of “The Culture Engine”. “With that information, the leader can assess what to do more of — and less of — to create that safe, inspiring and productive team culture.”

What is my end goal, and how do I get there?

A Boss should have a clear picture of his/her destination and chart the path to get there together with his/her employees. Making them a part of the plan gives employees the feeling that they have a stake in it, thus, they will gear all efforts towards achieving the set goals.

‘I see’ Zee said with a frown.

HOW CAN IT BE DONE RIGHT?

Like everything else in life, there is a right and wrong way of being a Boss.

A Boss should:

• Have an open-door policy. This is a communication policy in which a Boss leaves his/her office door open to demonstrate accessibility, encourage openness, transparency, open flow of communication, fast access to information and a closer worker relationship.
• Be willing and open to work with their staff and their team, keeping in mind their diverse background, experiences and attitudes.
• Be able to share the purpose or the “why” of what’s being accomplished, this helps build solidarity with employees.
• Be open to input and consider different perspectives when making a decision.
• Wear emotions on his/her sleeves – be professional. Roll up your emotions and get the work done.

‘Hmmm, if I hear say my Boss go do this one!’ exclaimed Funmi.

‘Madam, what is your problem? Don’t you know we are in a public place?’ Annie interrupted.

‘Ladies please, let’s concentrate’ BG intervened.

‘What qualities/traits should a Boss have?’ Zee asked

WHAT ARE THE BOSS QUALITIES?

‘Bosses should be extremely tolerant, very charismatic, have a sense of diplomacy, take responsibility for their actions, be very responsive and assessable, transparent, a good listener and sensitive to the cultural values of their employees’ – Ignatius Oli.

ARE YOU A LEARNER?

“Whatsoever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.” Henry Royce.

An important aspect of being a good Boss is being a LEARNER. Yes! You do not have to have all the answers or to know it all.Leading with a learner mindset opens you up to a wealth of different perspectives that may help you find the most effective solution to a problem — because your way may not necessarily be the best way.

The Learner (aka “The Guide”)

– Discovers

– Guides

– Has a framework for finding an ideal path

– Asks

– Values input

– Orchestrates

– Demands ideas

Being a Learner involves:

• Practicing self-awareness- evaluate your interaction with employees and how it influences them, put effort to make every interaction better.
• Value honesty- push employees to be truthful and to demand the truth always.
• Be comfortable with not knowing.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR STAFF TO BE THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?

Be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Tips:

• Get to know your employees. If you know your employees, you know your strength.
• Empower them to make decisions and do not second-guess them.
• Mentor you employees.
• Realize and show them that you know your success is dependent on them.
• Set collaborative goals and review progress.
• Delegate responsibility to them and trust them to come through.
• Help them to learn to workout issues without your intervention.
• Deal with their problems quickly and directly.
• Tell them how much you appreciate them – in front of clients if possible.
• Show your appreciation by doing something nice for them from time to time.
• Listen to them before you speak. Do not assume you know what they are about to say before they finish speaking.
• Always say thanks to them for what they do at work.

IS THEIR A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE?

‘Yes!’ I said proudly. ‘The Catholic Church has something to say about how employers should treat their employees. You know my Catholic faith provides guidelines for every facet of human life’.

‘Are you serious?’ Annie asked.

‘Of course I am’.

‘Tell us, what does it say?’ Zee asked enthusiastically.

THE CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE

The 10 principles of the Catholic Social Teaching about employment relationships includes:

• Dignity of the Human Person
• Human Life
• Association
• Participation
• Preference for the Poor
• Solidarity
• Stewardship
• Subsidiarity
• Equality
• Common Good

This implies that respect for worker dignity, for his/her family’s economic securityand for the common good of society emerge as the primary guidelines that should model human resource management in every organization.

‘Wow! I don’t envy anyone who wants to be a boss o!’ BG said while stretching. We all laughed. ‘Lets head home ladies, its getting late. Enough brainstorming for one night, thank you all for the enlightening session.’