How To Be A Good Boss In A Bad Economy

HI!

I “stole” the title of today’s blog post from the Harvard Business Review. Pretty cheeky I know.

The article I was reading…”How to Be a Good Boss In a Bad Economy” is in the June 2009 edition of the HBR.

A couple of things struck me as interesting:

First, the author, Robert I. Sutton, writes about the challenges that “bosses” face in today’s tough economic climate.

Let’s face it. There are some pretty nasty bosses out there.

BUT there are also a lot of really great bosses who are trying their best. Best of all the old models of management and leadership are changing. 

Second, Robert Sutton shares some practice wisdom for leaders who have the difficult task of laying off employees:

1. Help people (as much a possible) predict what will happen.

2.  Help people to understand what is happening.

3. Provide people with some sense of control.

4.  Be compassionate!

Sutton is also quoted as saying:

“The sign of a great boss: bosses who increase predictability, understanding, control, and compassion for their people will allow employees to accomplish the most in a time of anxiety–and will earn their deep loyalty.”

Compassion is something that I would expect from an organization espousing spiritual values. I find it rather interesting that compassion is now finding its way into the lexicon of corporate America.

Check out this site for a more detailed look at the subject of compassion in the workplace:

www.compassionlab.org/docs/whatgoodiscompassion.pdf

Cheers,

Lesley