Good boss energy is something we all know.
The boss might check-in with you to make sure you don't feel stressed.
Maybe it's the boss who finds new growth opportunities for you and is always your biggest champion.
Good boss energy is related to qualities of a leader. I spoke with nine leaders who were nominated by their direct reports as leaders with good boss energy.
We will look at how those leaders believe they foster good boss energy in their roles.
We need to cover what it is before diving into the tips for good boss energy.
When it comes to discussing corporate culture on social media, the term was started by the social team at HubSpot.
"#CorporateTok is the internet's favorite work vent venue," Green said. You have to change things to grow better. When we entered TikTok, we saw an opportunity to celebrate good work and good leadership by introducing Good Boss Energy.
Good Boss Energy is our culture code. The passion for our mission and metrics is what drives the culture at HubSpot. It is a culture of people who use good judgement and solve problems for customers. Good Boss Energy points out the importance of authenticity in leadership and having heart.
The For You Page was filled with inspiring and educational #GoodBossEnergy videos by creators of all sizes.
By creating our own Good Boss Energy ambassadors, we filled Corporate Tok with much-needed positivity, established HubSpot as our audience's growth soulmate, and demonstrated how growing better can start with you. When Good Boss Energy is present, the water cooler is half full.
Let's discuss how you can show Good Boss Energy in the workplace.
Resa Gooding, a Principal Manager on the Customer Success team, told me that she had two of her direct reports resign.
She wondered if she was giving off good boss energy. Why would those people leave if she was there?
I was tempted to berate myself for what I had done. I don't understand why they're leaving me. I wondered if I was a bad manager. Gooding let me know.
She realized that her direct reports were not leaving her. She says that life has a different calling for you sometimes. It's okay to ignore that call. It's learning to move out of your comfort zone and getting uncomfortable again.
Both individuals were very smart and good at what they did, and I believe my role was to help them work on other aspects of themselves that would empower them to become risk-taking.
Helping your employees learn and grow is part of good boss energy. It's important for a leader to find ways to develop each employee's strengths, and if those strengths lead to a new career path, that's great.
Gooding considers his "good boss energy" to be a translation of "good people energy". Our purpose should be to leave everyone we come into contact with better off than when we met them.
Being a good listener helps Kyle give off good boss energy.
He told me that he was proud of his work. My mother is a social worker and she taught me how to listen and understand people. The best leaders listen first because they have skills and experience.
You will want to meet with team members in person. Understand their pain points and motivation by getting to know them. Listen and ask follow up questions. It will help your team members understand how they contribute to the bigger goal if you connect the dots for them. You will see that your team members trust you more once you have this skill.
Building a good workplace relationship requires good listening skills. It can come across like they don't care about our progress, our challenges, or even us as people if we feel our managers aren't really listening.
Senior Director of partner success agrees that listening well is a major component of good boss energy She says being a good boss is hard. A lot of intentionality is required in the way you approach problems, team members, and communication. To help a team member feel heard you need to listen without interruption and then repeat what you were told to make sure you're on the same page.
It's important to be vulnerable and acknowledge what body language you're observing or if you're picking up on things not being said as a way of opening the door for team members to be more open with their reservations.
It is easier to practice active listening if you limit distraction. If you want to concentrate on your direct reports, close all tabs on your screen and take handwritten notes.
Good boss energy is very simple, as long as you demonstrate empathy.
It's probably one of the most important environments to be human because we spend most of our lives in this space and with other people.
"As a leader, I try to just be human, meeting people where they are, considering an issue from their perspective, taking a genuine interest in them, and understanding their ambitions, goals, and even what causes them anxiety or stress," he says. It's not possible to fake empathy. If you want to give off good boss energy, you have to ask yourself if you care about your team or not.
A recent survey shows that 80% of CEOs think empathy is a key driver of success, as it builds trust, prevents a toxic workplace, and helps increase employee retention and engagement.
A sales director agrees that empathy is important. She says that you have to remember that it's all about your people. They feel appreciated if you care about them. As a leader, you can use that emotion to help your people achieve what they thought was impossible.
Strong leaders should not be too compassionate towards their employees for fear of being seen as weak. It's important for your team members to perform to the best of their ability if they feel valued.
Good leadership requires humility. It is possible for your direct reports to connect with you and trust you more if you are humble.
Raleigh said that being a good boss probably starts with entertaining the possibility that you might not be one. I lead a large number of direct reports who are all going through their own individual stressors and celebrations, trials, successes, failures, and the appropriate (or not so appropriate) emotions that accompany them.
It's important to be aware of where people come from during any given engagement, maybe they had a tough day and aren't ready to hear any feedback today, maybe they need to just vent about stuff not even related to work. Maybe they need a deep dive on a problem they've been working on for weeks and you need to sideline less urgent items.
You could show humility as a leader.
If you operate under the assumption that you won't always, or even often, get everything right, that will support a professional environment built on trust that gets as much as possible right, as often as possible."
Being a good leader will help your employees scale up on their strengths.
How my direct reports are developing is the most important thing I look at. Are they overcoming obstacles, taking on new challenges, and growing in places that will help them reach their goals on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis? I don't know how to keep those lines on my deliverables. Everything will fall into place if that is reconciled.
Holly Park, Principal Manager of Customer Onboarding, told me that the one strategy that comes up most often from former team members is my ability tovolunte them for special assignments. I volunteer my team members for a stretch project that feels both empowering and challenging. Team members grow in that uncomfortable place.
How do I match potential to opportunity? I keep a short list of my skills and ambitions. When I hear of an opportunity, I can match it in my mind. The key to this is to match someone who leans into their skill set with someone who is novel. When you give it to them, let them know that you are confident in their abilities and why this is an opportunity for them. Continue to give support after that. One mentor told me to get good at giving responsibility to others.
Looking out for new opportunities for your employees to grow isn't the same as giving them tasks you don't want to do. Being thoughtful and intentional about identifying their areas for improvement and then finding projects that help them flex that muscle is what it is about.
Paul Weston thinks authenticity is the key to being a good leader.
Don't we all have imposter syndrome from time to time? I'm at my best when I'm not thinking or acting like a leader. It's important that authenticity is present. I think that people like that. This leads to psychological safety as relationships grow.
Weston is willing to get his hands dirty, and his team knows that. I make room for things when work gets busy. I can stay plugged in and see how important the work is. Building great relationships takes a lot of time and effort. It's important to lead with humility, expectations and positive energy.
A strong leader needs someone who can be direct with his or her team.
It's always best to be direct when giving feedback, he said. People should be given feedback in the moment. Help them comprehend the feedback. Setting clear expectations will help you see a change in behavior.
Everyone wants to succeed and they appreciate when you help them progress. I like to show people what good looks like, give them an industry example or show them something that has happened in the past. It's the best way to side-by-side.
Being direct and offering constructive feedback is one of the most important characteristics of a strong leader and will help your team members feel more engaged in the workplace.
My manager begins each meeting with, "So, how are you feeling this week?"
This is a question I really like. My answer can help inform my manager on what I need from her, and give some context on how to coach me.
Alanah Joseph sees it as her responsibility to give her direct reports plenty of grace and allow them to make mistakes.
She says that being a good boss has never been her goal. It is the result of a lot of work and practice. I have become more aware of my own humanness in battling my own perfectionism. I am able to make mistakes. Everyone has bad days. Learning curves are fun because you are learning new skills, but inevitably you will fail.
She says that the best thing she can do for her team is to be transparent. If you provide a safe environment for people to be human, you will end up with a high performing team. It works for me so far.
Joseph starts her weekly team meetings with a red light and a green light. Green light means you are doing well and ready for the week. You need additional support if you have a yellow light. You can't do your full workload if you have red light.
The rest of the team splits up when someone calls a red light. It is important to me that my team is given the chance to be transparent and authentic. We're just like everyone else.
I got a lot of great feedback on why their manager had good boss energy when I collected submissions on it.
Megan Scott recommended her manager because she felt like she was being high maintenance on his packed calendar. He told me that helping me succeed was the most important thing he did.
Also, Principal Customer Onboarding Specialist, Bridget Donelson.
She is amazing and my manager. She is a great boss. Her boss energy is shown in the examples.
It takes time, effort, and intentionality to give off good boss energy, but it pays off by inspiring your team to take bigger risks, and letting them know they can feel comfortable being honest with you.
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