8 Ways to Become Your Colleagues’ Favorite Boss
In every establishment, there are people at the position of authority who are often seen as everybody’s favorite or most people’s favorite, to say the least. To become your colleagues’ favorite boss doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to compromise.
You cannot and should not sacrifice one important goal for another important goal. You can become your colleagues’ favorite boss doesn’t have to come at the expense of organizational goals and objectives.
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In any case, someone who compromises the goals of the company for cheap popularity amongst the workers cannot definitely be the favorite.
This piece is a guide to corporate leaders on how they can become the workers’ favorite boss. It is a mixture of subtlety, care, and strictness. They all have their time.
Ways to Become Your Colleagues’ Favorite Boss
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Make sure you are not the “cool boss”
It may seem contradictory but you have to remember that being very close to your subordinates may not always make you that favorite boss. We are not saying that you should be too strict but don’t be too informal.
Your job is to get everybody under you to be the best at what they do. Don’t rush into building personal relationships with them if you will become your colleagues’ favorite boss. Let things develop naturally.
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Remember your workforce is not your family
This may sound very harsh but your workforce can never be your family. They can become your teammates, close pals, even friends but definitely not your family.
A healthy relationship is all you need to become your colleagues’ favorite boss so don’t compare it to the intensity of the concept of family. What we are saying is that you should be cool but not too cool in order not to have the opposite effect.
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Invite and embrace criticism
Criticism is part of the daily routine of the corporate world. How you handle criticism will either endear you or estrange you from your colleagues. It will determine if you can become your colleagues’ favorite boss.
To that effect, we urge you to invite and embrace criticism and urge them to be very constructive about it and all of you will be able to move on with it.
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Don’t be a target
As a leader, you need to create a balance between invisibility and availability. You don’t have to be too absent or withdrawn in order not to be branded the unserious or mean boss and you don’t have to be too available in order not to be taken for granted.
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When you are around, manage and give them things to like you about. You can always find ways to deliver good news, interesting developments, cool employees and other things during the company meetings. Make them miss you when you are not there and make them enjoy you when you are there.
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Use your competitors as motivators
The truth is that morale will not always be high. There will be days when it will be very low and it is left for you to handle it well. One of the ways to do that is to increase their collective competitive will by talking up the strides made by competitors.
This will increase their killer instincts and productive level and your ranking among your colleagues.
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Give out free perks or gifts
Giving has always been better than receiving. You have no idea what free gifts can do in the life of people. It can move mountains practically. People just love free gifts so if you will ever have the chance to become your colleagues’ favorite boss, you will learn how to give out free gifts.
It really doesn’t matter how small or big that free gift is. It doesn’t matter whether they can afford it or not. Their productivity will definitely increase with these gifts.
Don’t make it a daily routine though because people can simply forget the value of what you give them when it becomes too common.
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Ask for small favors
You cannot appear to know everything. That will make them skeptical or even scared of you. Everybody wants to feel needed and important. So let them feel that. Ask them to help you with certain jobs even if you can handle the job very well.
What you are asking, of course, has to be within the purview of their job descriptions so as to make it easy for them. Don’t ask for what they cannot be able to do. Remind too that it has to be a quick job and finished as soon as possible.
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Publicly apologize for your mistakes
You are not the pope of the Catholic Church or the kings in the medieval period who are believed to be infallible. You are human and humans make mistakes. If you want to become your colleagues’ favorite boss, you will have to acknowledge your mistakes when you make them.
There is no harm in publicly apologizing for your mistakes. This will increase your ranking among the employees. You don’t apologize for everything though, that could have the counter effect.
