Travis Bradberry op huffingtonpost.com, november 2016. Dominante managers veroorzaken stress, hartkwalen en verloop volgens Amerikaans onderzoek. Dienende managers leveren inspiratie, motivatie en betrokken medewerkers.
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10 Reasons Nice Bosses Finish First
Many bosses assume that a leader needs to be aloof and tough on employees in order to be effective. They fear that looking “soft” will erode their employee’s motivation and respect for them. To prove their case, they cite examples of brilliant leaders who modeled a tough leadership style and low emotional intelligence, such as Steve Jobs, who berated his employees.
When it comes to success as a leader, radically tough leadership styles are exceptions to the rule, not the rule. Recent research has shown that overly tough bosses create significant health and motivation problems in their employees, which will make you think twice about taking the tough-as-nails approach.
Overly tough bosses create stress, and lots of it, as the research shows: A University of London study found an especially strong link between heart disease and boss-inflicted stress, while a University of Concordia study found that employees who rate themselves as highly stressed added 46% to their employer’s health care costs. Research from the Institute of Naval Medicine found that overly tough bosses cause people to seek jobs elsewhere, to perform at a lower level, to decline promotions, and even to quit. Finally, a survey from Randstad Consulting showed that most employees would trade in their bosses for better ones rather than receive a $5,000 pay raise. People don’t leave jobs; they leave bad bosses.
The thing is, nice bosses don’t just prevent health and motivational problems among their employees; they create massive benefits that hard-nosed bosses can’t. […]
So, what exactly does a “nice” boss look like, and how does one pull this off without being a push over? Let’s find out.
1. They’re kind without being weak. One of the toughest things for leaders to master is kindness. It’s a balancing act, and the key to finding balance is to recognize that true kindness is inherently strong — it’s direct and straightforward.
2. They’re strong without being harsh. People will wait to see if a leader is strong before they decide to follow his or her lead or not. People need courage in their leaders.A lot of leaders mistake domineering, controlling, and otherwise harsh behavior for strength.
3. They’re confident, without being cocky. Confidence is about passion and belief in your ability to make things happen, but when your confidence loses touch with reality, you begin to think you can do things you can’t and have done things you haven’t. Great, confident leaders are still humble.
4. They stay positive, but remain realistic. The right combination of positivity and realism is what keeps things moving forward.
5. They’re role models, not preachers. Great leaders inspire trust and admiration through their actions, not just their words. Many leaders say that integrity is important to them, but great leaders walk their talk by demonstrating integrity every day.
6. They’re willing to take a bullet for their people.The best leaders will do anything for their teams, and they have their people’s backs no matter what. They don’t try to shift blame, and they don’t avoid shame when they fail. They know that an environment where people are afraid to speak up, offer insights, and ask good questions is destined for failure.
7. They balance work and fun. It takes a kind, but balanced leader to know how to motivate and push employees to be their best but to also have the wherewithal to slow it down at the appropriate time in order to celebrate results and have fun. This balance prevents burnout, builds a great culture, and gets results.
8. They form personal connections. Even in a crowded room, kind leaders make people feel like they’re having a one-on-one conversation, as if they’re the only person in the room that matters.
9. They deliver feedback flawlessly. It takes a tactful leader to deliver feedback that is accurate and objective but also considerate and inspirational. Leaders who are kind know how to take into account the feelings and perspectives of their employees while still delivering the message they need to hear in order to improve.
10. They’re generous. They share credit and offer enthusiastic praise and they’re as committed to their followers’ success as they are to their own.
“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” – John Maxwell
Bringing It All Together
Kind leaders are dynamic; they meld a variety of unique skills into an integrated whole. Incorporate the behaviors above into your repertoire, and you’ll see immediate improvement in your leadership skills.
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