Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss?

In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss is one who can identify and build on the talents of the staff and knows how to retain top performing employees. Take this quiz and see if you are a good boss.

Use the following scale to respond to the questions:
Strongly disagree--1; disagree--2; uncertain--3; agree--4; strongly agree--5.

  • My employees understand the connection between their team or department's actions and the success of the company.
  • Each employee had clearly-defined work goals and the resources necessary to achieve them.
  • I usually assign the right tasks and amount of work to others.
  • People tell me that I am a good listener.
  • I have created an environment where people get along and work is fun.
  • I know my employees' career goals.
  • I regularly coach my employees in developing their skills.

    • Scoring:

    26-35: You know your employees' needs and strengths and use this knowledge to get the results you want.
    11-25: Invest some more time in defining your goals and in getting to know your employees, and achieving results will get much easier.
    0-11: Are your employees "results challenged?" Get your act together.

    Interpreting the results:

    • The first three questions assess the ability to make a connection between organizational objectives and an individual employees contribution.

    • The rest of the quiz assesses people skills the ability to get employees to care about the company's goals by giving them room to grow and making the work environment a people-friendly place.

    • Pay careful attention to any item with a rating of three or less. Are you too focused on results to take time to build relationships, or are you spending too much time building rapport and net getting anything done?

    Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ? to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management.

    Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ? resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ? fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

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