The Filipino Entrepreneur

The article below is a good comparison o being a boss or a coach. I guess the comparison was made because in an organization, a leader who is a team player is much more successful than a tyrant. This article should open our eyes that bullying a subordinate is not the way to a healthy organization. Coaching guru Thomas Crane warns managers and business owners against falling into the trap of being demanding: self-absorbed, and controlling. He says that these are some indicators of “bossing” as against coaching:

Bosses believe that their job if to push people or drive them.
Coaches believe that they are there to lift and support people.

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A study made by HR consultants firm Hewitt Associates revealed Asia-based companies filled with motivated and satisfied employees are 78% more productive and 40% more profitable than those companies with many disgruntled employees. Such companies are productive because the managers invest time and effort to create a more positive atmosphere in the workplace. This way, the employees and the employer support each other to achieve a common goal.

You can create such a positive workplace without having to incur additional cost for your business. Here’s how:

1. Keep Your Employees In The Loop
”Keep your people informed of your plans for the future so they all work towards one goal,”says Chit Juan, president and CEO of Figaro Coffee Co. Employees feel a sense of fulfillment when they know that they’re helping you to achieve the company’s mission. This also moves them to think of new ideas and even volunteer to work in new projects.
Florante Cruz, CEO of Vidres.Net, an online search engine that allows job seekers to send out video resumes, adds that by informing his employees about the company’s direction. his employees feel secure that they’re working in a company that can help them achieve whatever their career goals are, They are also able to assess whether their skills and knowledge will indeed be of use to the company.

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An essential characteristic of leadership or, for that matter, of any endeavor, is the constant striving for improvement. As with motivation, improvement doesn’t just happen; you must make it happen. How can you improve your leadership abilities? The following guidelines will help you:

Put first things first. Do you want to move ahead? You must answer that question first. If your answer is yes, then you must recognize the fact that advancement takes its toll. Advancement requires hard work and personal sacrifice, for many people, the sacrifice is sometimes too great. Know where you want to go and then prepare to sacrifice personal desires to get there. If you’re married, prepare your family for sacrifices, also. They, too, will spend long, lonely hours during the fight uphill.

Of course, relaxing activities don’t have to be given up completely; but you must be perfectly honest and ask yourself whether recreation or hard work for advancement will give you the greater reward. The possibilities for accomplishment are almost limit- less-if you’re willing to pay the price.

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Remember that learning effective leadership isn’t a simple “3 easy steps ” process, rather, it’s a complicated approach to one of management’s most critical functions.

Before you can practice leadership, you must realize that there’s no single style of leadership that will work in all situations. Adaptability becomes a key term in the practice of leadership. When Charles Darwin discussed survival of the fittest he was talking about all species of living things, he could just as easily have directed his observations to managerial leaders. It’s true that leaders must adapt to the leadership environment or risk extinction.

Therefore, an analyst of the factors which make up every leadership environment is important. Many management theorists agree that there are specific, identifiable factors or ”forces” at work in a leadership environment. These are:

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Learning a set of guidelines for leadership is quite normal for the student of management, but the real test of leadership potential-for students and managers-is learning how to put such guidelines into practice. The first step, of course, is knowing each guideline and appreciating the rationale for each one. Then, through introspection, perform a self-assessment to see how closely your normal behavior matches the guidelines. When you see a discrepancy you want to work on, you’ll be able to deter- mine how to go about the task of self- improvement.

As you study the following set of guide- lines, keep this fact in mind: Effective leaders are made, not born.

Maintain respect. ”How familiar should I be with my subordinates?” is a question that must be faced squarely by all managers. It’s well known that extreme familiarity between a manager and a subordinate can be detrimental to both. The proper relationship between a manager and a subordinate can be stated as one of mutual respect. As a manager, you must respect the human dignity of your sub- ordinates. If you set the proper example, and if you have integrity, you’ll be respected in turn for who you are and what you do.

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