In a July 2023 Pew Research survey, 55% of workers said their manager or supervisor is very good or excellent to work for, and another 26% said their manager or supervisor is “good” to work for. Majorities also said their bosses were capable, confident, fair, and caring.
So what makes these bosses so great? How do they work so well with their employees?
Here are six ways leaders can develop good relationships and work well with their employees.
1. Maintain good character qualities.
Good leaders are dependable and exhibit exemplary character. They keep their promises, follow through on commitments, and promote transparency.
Leaders with good character also share the credit for success with their teams. In the Pew survey, 56% of employees said their bosses give them credit when it’s due. As we say at Stewart Leadership, “It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
All leaders need some level of ego, but they must also temper that ego with high degrees of personal integrity. Leaders who always do the right thing, respect others, and extend empathy and compassion to others can build trust with their teams.
2. Help team members develop new skills and competencies.
The research is clear: employees are more likely to stay with an organization that offers them development opportunities than one that doesn’t. Managers and leaders within an organization can help by finding ways to develop their direct reports during regular business.
Leaders should delegate tasks that help their direct reports develop new skills. They can also encourage employees to take stretch assignments within the company and take advantage of training and development opportunities offered by the company.
3. Clarify your expectations
As our colleague Peter Stewart says, “The definition of frustration is when expectations are unmet.” Most people want to deliver high-quality results and meet expectations.
The best way for employees to meet expectations is to start with clear expectations. Ensure your team is aligned with your goals and the organization’s goals. Share and reshare the vision and purpose of the organization and team. Most of all, communicate, communicate, communicate! Poor communication can result in significant financial loss for the organization—an average of over $12,000 annually!
4. Offer good feedback
Working well with your direct reports doesn’t mean that you have to consign yourself to only praising people and never critiquing them. Instead, the key to working well with your team is to offer quality feedback.
Most direct reports and team members want feedback; good feedback improves engagement and performance. In fact, a Gallup survey found that 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback in the previous week were fully engaged.
Giving good feedback does require some work on the leader’s part. Leaders should be aware of how the brain reacts to feedback and try to minimize the “fight, flight, or freeze” response that others can have when receiving feedback.
5. Give them a voice
According to Gallup, only about 25% of employees feel strongly that their opinions count at work. However, bringing employees into conversations about the organization and its operations can be an excellent way to improve buy-in and a sense of purpose.
Giving your employees a voice doesn’t mean turning over the reins of the business to your direct reports, but it also doesn’t mean soliciting input and ignoring it.
Instead, a good balance for both employees and leaders is to allow employees the safety to voice concerns and make suggestions to leadership but to temper that input with facts or data that employees may not see. It can also mean soliciting honest feedback from direct reports about how leaders can improve their management skills.
Leaders can use formal tools such as employee surveys and focus groups to gauge the overall voice of employees. On a more personal level, leaders can regularly ask for input and feedback from direct reports. And remember—try to always offer a clear, honest, and full response to employee suggestions and comments.
6. Be flexible
The world is in a new era of remote and hybrid work, and leaders who expect to return to the old ways of work will likely find themselves looking for new team members. Employees expect some level of flexibility that allows them to maintain work-life integration. Even if companies want to see people back in the office some of the time or if roles require a lot of in-person work, employees still expect to be able to take care of family obligations and have mental and physical time away from work.
Working well with employees doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time to build trust, understand goals and objectives in both directions, and get to know work preferences and habits in both directions. However, leaders who are open to feedback and actively pursue their development can become bosses that no one wants to leave.
SELF-CHECK:
- What is one thing you do well to foster strong relationships with your direct reports?
- What is one area you can work on to improve relationships with direct reports?
- Would your direct reports say you’re a “good boss?” Why or why not?
