My Bosses’ Top 12 To-Dos for the New Year

I’ve been lucky with bosses over the years. No real bad ones. A couple of great ones. None of them perfect. (They’d say the same of me, I’m sure.) These days, my bosses are the managers and leaders in our classes every week.

To all my bosses, I offer these top 12 to-dos for the new year. Focus on just one a month—building momentum as you go—, and you’ll be much closer to perfect this time next year.

1. Walk (Jan)

It’s hard to lead from an office chair. Your team wants to see you (believe it or not), and they expect you to be available and accessible. So let go of the mouse, and go check on your people. At least say “hi” every day, if humanly possible. Prioritize your daily tasks to make time for “ walking the floor.” You don’t have to loiter or hang over people’s shoulders, but get out there. Engage. Don’t let meetings, special projects, and daily chores make you an absentee boss.

2. Talk (Feb)

Be an open and frequent communicator: informal, spontaneous conversations and regular, formal meetings. Informal conversations should be friendly and professional (no gossip or offensive language or talk that harms your credibility). Formal meetings should have clear objectives, a focused agenda, and prepared, well-presented content. You might share important business information, provide performance feedback, collaborate to solve issues and generate ideas, coach and instruct, or just … talk.

3. Look (Mar)

Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries by seeing what others didn’t, by observing the most mundane and seemingly insignificant clues. Elementary! Keep your eyes open … and your mind. Focus on the people and actions around you. Search for the subtle details that might lead to larger revelations (and that sometimes keep small issues from growing into big messes). Look for good opportunities and seize them. See the great possibilities and turn them into reality. Visionary leaders see what others do not because they are looking for them. Keep looking.

4. Listen (Apr)

“Everybody wants to talk, few want to think, and nobody wants to listen.” Ever heard that? Hello? Leaders talk a lot. It’s part of the deal. But don’t do ALL the talking … like you know everything and have all the answers; you don’t, and no one expects you to. Listening isn’t just about allowing others to talk, either. (Just because it goes in one ear doesn’t mean it makes any stops before flying out the other.) Give people your full attention: remove distractions, show sincere interest and empathy, ask probing questions to clarify your understanding, read people’s body language . Look for opportunities to listen more, to get feedback and input from your team. You’ll be a much more credible leader for it.

5. Learn (May)

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that there’s too much going on to stop learning . No one knows everything, as I said, and things change … constantly. The way you do things now might not work so great next week. Be curious; be open to new information, ideas, and perspectives; be a risk taker who learns from failure (and doesn’t shrink from it); be ready to adjust and make improvements. And, help your people learn. Develop them. Invest in them. Nudge them forward, build their skills, support their goals, encourage their initiative, leverage their mistakes, and help instill a habit of learning and continuous improvement. They might just learn to love it.

6. Own (Jun)

“Everyone else does it.” “I’m just one person.” “That’s not my job.” “I did my part; those other people dropped the ball.” Ever heard any of these cop-outs (even in your own head, sometimes)? The simple truth is: bad leaders are less accountable than good leaders. Less accountable? When we assign blame to others, view ourselves as helpless victims, rationalize excuses for low expectations and results, or believe we can’t make a difference. And more accountable? When we take ownership of our actions, tasks, goals, problems, and results. When we admit mistakes, are more proactive than reactive, put the needs of others before our own, or act with integrity even when no one is watching. But don’t take all the credit when things go right. Let your team own some of the accomplishment as well.

7. Trust (Jul)

Most of us get promoted to management because we were outstanding, reliable, driven individual contributors. Now, as managers, we can’t do it all ourselves. We have to help other people become outstanding, reliable, driven individual contributors. It’s not always easy to let go, but let go we must. Believe in your team’s abilities, delegate tasks to them, empower them to make decisions, give them opportunities to learn and grow and become self-sufficient. Moreover, ensure your people can trust YOU. Be honest, consistent, and confidential (when appropriate). Match your actions to your words; keep promises and commitments; be positive and optimistic; be calm, confident, and courageous in stressful or adverse situations. Trust yourself. Trust your people. Trust me.

8. Respect (Aug)

We all deserve a respectful workplace where we are reasonably safe, are treated fairly, and are able to focus on our work. Leaders set the standard. Clearly lay out your expectations, and vigorously reinforce them with your own consistent words and actions. Leverage the team’s diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. Affirm the uniqueness and importance of each team member. Foster a sense of belonging and collaboration. Provide an open environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing opinions and discussing problems and issues without fear of reprisal. When something goes wrong, focus on isolating the cause, not pointing fingers. Bolster people so they feel good about themselves and what they’re doing.

9. Smile (Sep)

(… And the whole world smiles with you.) Be serious about your work, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Show your human side. Laugh at yourself. Find some humor in difficult situations. NOTHING beats an enjoyable workplace; people work better, are happier, are more creative, have less stress, and have fonder memories of you at the end of the day. Contests, team-building activities, exercise breaks, offsite excursions … you can lighten things up a million different ways, but they all start with a smile, and even a laugh. Have some fun!

10. Celebrate (Oct)

It’s good and important to recognize the accomplishments of your team (and individual team members): a parade down Main Street, a formal awards dinner, a small pizza party, a pat on the back, whatever. And don’t wait until the end of a big project to do it. Praise often; it’s hard to over praise, as long as it’s sincere. Recognize people for reaching milestone goals. Celebrate small wins (in some small way) and big wins (in some big way) with the entire team. Be creative. Cut loose. Celebrations are a great motivator, and they emphasize how much you value a job well done, big or small.

11. Care (Nov)

Go deep for a second … Do you like being a boss? Do you like people? Do you believe in them? Do you believe in your ability to help them do better? Does the work motivate you? Does it inspire you? Are you passionate about it? I can tell you that all these things are important to your success as a leader, but caring—more so than the previous to-dos, probably—is a connection you must find for yourself (you can’t force passion ). You don’t have to be a big ol’ softy, necessarily, but your people need to know you really care about them and their work … and that’s hard to fake. Find ways to inspire yourself every day. Stoke the fire in your belly and it’ll catch on.

12. Balance (Dec)

There are essentially two sides to being the boss: managing things and leading people. Each side requires a different focus and different set of skills. My most effective bosses managed things for maximum efficiency and consistency, and—at the same time, paradoxically—they led people to shake things up and make profound changes. Remember Goldilocks! Too far to one side and you’re too “hard” (too grounded and controlling). Too far to the other side and you’re too “soft” (too starry-eyed and slack). Good bosses are “just right”… in the middle. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should always split your time equally between the two sides. Rather, it means you should not neglect one side for the other. Find your balance to get the whole job done … things and people … managing and leading … preserving and progressing.