6 Articles to Help You Be the Best Boss You Can Be
Even after you’ve been in a leadership role for several years, you won’t have all of the answers. Here’s a secret: No one does.
So, how is it that some managers seem to come to better conclusions more often than others do? In my experience, it’s because they continue to develop their learning and are interested in new strategies and approaches.
Many years ago, one of my team members called me a “student of leadership.” I happily claim this title to this day. I immerse myself in reading and writing leadership and career development articles and I am known to share them at the office, with friends, and on social media.
With this is mind, here are the top six articles I have bookmarked and share most frequently with managers seeking advice on how to be an even better boss.
1. How to Go from Being a Star Performer to a Leader – Annie McKee
I recommend this article for all new managers to understand the mindset shift they will need to undertake to be successful. It’s not about you anymore. (For more advice for first-time managers, I wrote this article on what I wish I had known when I started.)
2. Three Powerful Conversations Managers Must Have to Develop Their People – Russ Laraway
If you understand where your employees come from and want to go, you can support their growth. The article offers a three-step process for helping your employees create short- and long-term career plans. Laraway cites servant leadership as his model for developing these career conversations, which is a philosophy I believe deeply in, too.
3. Connect Then Lead – Amy Cuddy
When you meet people for the first time, it is natural to focus on your competence and how to demonstrate what you know. However, when people meet you for the first time, they are focused on your warmth and whether they can trust you. This article provides tips on how to connect with others first, and build trust, before attempting to lead them.
4. Vague Feedback is Holding Women Back – Shelley Correll and Caroline Simard
There is a perception that women can’t handle feedback, often due to generalization and unconscious bias. As a result, many women do not receive effective feedback in the workplace, which holds them back from advancing. Or worse, they receive feedback that is gender-biased and not really about performance at all (i.e. “You are too aggressive”). This article shares how to give women specific feedback, focused on behaviors to allow them to increase their self-awareness and thrive at work.
5. Who’s Got the Monkey? – William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass
As a new manager, I often took on my team members’ problems and conflicts as my own. Sometimes this was my own doing and other times it was employees unknowingly depositing their issues on me. In talking with a mentor, she suggested I read this article—and I have since shared it with many new managers. There is a difference between supporting your team members through challenges and owning their challenges. (Note: the original article was published in Harvard Business Review in 1974 and this is an updated summary version.)
6. The Adaptable Leader is the New Holy Grail—Become One, Hire One – Anne Dwane
Learning is willingness to not know everything and be curious about what is possible. By changing your mindset, you can develop new learning and become more adaptable. Dwane also walks you through how to hire a team of dedicated learners by offering targeted interview questions and support learning in the workplace.
For more of my leadership bookshelf recommendations, check out the nine books that helped me become the leader I am today and the six books I recommend to all women leaders.