New Year's Resolutions For The Boss

New Year's Resolutions For The Boss

Judy Olian

( Judy Olian is Dean of Penn State's Smeal College of Business and a leading expert in strategic human resources management .)

Of course, you're the greatest boss ever, a legend in your own mind. Are you sure your employees feel that way? Perhaps not, so resolve to be a better boss next year. I'll offer ten options as New Year resolutions for the 'almost perfect' boss:

(1) Be a mentor - - reach out to selected junior people in your workplace, who could benefit from closer attention to their career development, mobility, and assignment opportunities they should pursue.

(2) Be direct in providing feedback, tackling development and improvement needs among your subordinates. Letting problems fester does no one any good. You resent it as your employee's performance deteriorates, and the team suffers. Help employees improve by providing direct, constructive, and sensitive feedback.

(3) Look in the mirror, and make an honest assessment of what you do well, and areas in which your behavior is problematic or even destructive for your employees. We're often very effective at hiding from our own weaknesses. If you need to, sit down with trusted employees or peers to realistically gauge your management strengths and weaknesses.

(4) Spend more time walking around, showing the flag, being visible. You'll learn more in an hour on-site with your employees, than you will in a week of meetings in your office. Moreover, they will appreciate direct contact with you and see you as an approachable person, more likely to listen to their ideas and feedback.

(5) Listen. You'll be more likely to pick up creative ideas, potential problems, and the issues that matter to each employee. You'll be demonstrating that you care about what's on their mind, and that you respect their ideas.

(6) Manage the way your team works together. Make sure they are hired to complement each other, that they share knowledge broadly across the team, and work to support the success of the team as a whole rather than as a collection of individual athletes.

(7) Don't sweat the small stuff. Keep your eye on the goal line and get enmeshed only in matters of strategic importance. The small or petty stuff doesn't warrant the attention of the boss.

(8) Celebrate the successes of your team, and make it fun. It's easy to get mired in the downside, in the problems that need to be corrected. But in this down economy, you need to pay special attention to uplifting spirits, accentuating areas that are working, and acknowledging the efforts of extraordinary contributors.

(9) Strengthen the sense of community at work. We've learned a lot after September 11th, including the importance of ties among co-workers. Think about ways to enhance the level of mutual caring and connections among all employees in the company.

(10) Aim for better balance in your own life. According to Brendan Tobin, author of, "Yes, You Can! Extraordinary Results from Ordinary People," nobody dies wishing they had spent more time at work. Family is important, and activities outside of work should be nurtured. You'll be more effective in employment with better balance. You'll also be serving as a role model for others.

Once you're done with these resolutions, you can focus on dieting, or working out.

Happy New Year.