Want to Be a Great Boss? Here’s the Top 5 Ways to Achieve It

What makes a good boss a great boss? As a founder and business executive in the service industry for over 20 years, Jonathan Shroyer has learned a lot about what makes a great boss, great. People want great bosses, and this is becoming even more important in cultivating and retaining the right workers for your company, and is something everyone in management should consider.

Here are some of Shroyers tips on how bosses can become great leaders to their teams and people:

1. Work alongside your team members

Leaders who see themselves as team players and work with their teams create an environment that is effective and efficient. Team members feel like they are supported and have a boss they can depend on and look to as a leader, not just a boss.

2. Acknowledge efforts

When you accomplish something, you want people to acknowledge it, right? Having a boss that recognizes their team members’ efforts and accomplishments can go a long way to improve the company culture. Additionally, when success is acknowledged, it is more likely to become a common pattern over time, which will help leaders, employees and the business in the long-run.

3. Operate and conduct business with compassion and directness 

Life and mistakes happen. People will be out sick, people will make mistakes and people deserve compassion. It is important for Leaders to conduct themselves with empathy when things happen. A lack of compassion will lead to high turnover, negative company culture and will decrease productivity, with people spending more time concerned about being the boss’ next target than their job. When a team member makes a mistake, a great leader will be direct, but kind and work to resolve the situation immediately. If a team member needs to take an unexpected sick day, a great leader will be understanding and compassionate.

4. Create an environment where professional relationships can flourish

We spend what equates to years of our lives working alongside our coworkers and our bosses. Professional relationships are essential for many people and can go a long way to creating a successful business environment. Great leaders will understand the value in professional relationships and will work to build those relationships for their teams.

5. Actively listen

Someone who actively listens to you is a great person to have in your corner. You feel supported, heard and safe with people who actually listen and care about you. A great boss understands and listens to their team members.

Jonathan Shroyer founded Officium Labs back in 2019. He is now the Chief CX Innovation Officer at Arise Virtual Solutions. There, he leads the gaming and consulting verticals and runs the CX Lab in San Francisco. Shroyer has over two decades of experience building companies and leaders up. CIO Journal, a publication of The Wall Street Journal, named Shroyer among its “Top CX Professionals of 2022.