Latest publication from award winning Global HR Leader, Debra Corey

20 May Latest publication from award winning Global HR Leader, Debra Corey

Debra Corey’s recently published best selling business book, “Bad Bosses Ruin Lives: The Building Blocks for Being a Great Boss” that she wrote with her husband Ken, is a call to action for any boss who instead wants to wake up in the morning and be a great boss. In it they explore the 10 types of bad bosses and share their Great Boss Building Block™ model to offer a solution that is fit to address the problems of the modern workplace and workforce.

The majority of bosses do not wake up in the morning and say to themselves, “Today is a great day to ruin my people’s lives.” And yet time after time, person after person, that is exactly what is happening, with well-intentioned bosses getting it wrong. Instead of being the great boss they want and need to be, they are doing the opposite of what they set out to do – making bad decisions, taking bad actions, and causing bad impacts.

But this isn’t new, we’ve heard for years that bad bosses are rampant in the workplace. How people leave bosses and not companies. How people don’t trust their bosses. And how a bad boss can drive disengagement. We laugh at these bad bosses, point fingers at them, blame them, and even come up with nasty names to call them. But where has that gotten us? Nowhere, as we still have a very real problem! In fact, almost 100% of the people who participated in a recent survey said that they’ve had a bad boss.

Myths & Misconceptions

The book also busts common myths and misconceptions surrounding bosses which include the following:
1. All bad bosses know that they’re bad bosses – The majority of bosses would be shocked to hear that their employees thought they were a bad boss. But mathematically that can’t be right. We know that bad bosses exist. This is why it’s even more important for you, as a boss, to be self-aware, understanding why, when, and how you may take on bad boss traits, and then overcome them to take actions to be a great one.
2. You’re either a bad, good, or great boss – When it comes to being a boss, it is never either/or, all, or nothing. We all have a mix of traits, some bad, some good, and some great. The reality is that there are shades of gray. They come and go based on the situation, the person, and even what’s happening in our lives. The key is understanding what they are, and how you can deal with and improve them.
3. Everyone wants the same things from their boss – If all our people were the same, life would be so easy, and being a great boss would be easy. We’d have one set of instructions to learn, and use them over and over again with our people. But that’s not how it is. Your people all want and need different things from you, and for this reason, you need to understand and adapt so that we can be a great boss to each and every one of them, whatever that looks like.
4. There are only a few skills you need to learn to be a great boss – Just like there is not one set of instructions, there aren’t one, two, or three skills to learn, and bang, you’re a great boss. If only! There are a wide variety of skills you need to learn so that you can handle all that your people, your business, and the world throw at you.
5. Once you get it right it’s smooth sailing – Wouldn’t it be great if once you finished this book, or any book, or took a course, and presto, you had what it took to be a great boss? It would, but it isn’t! And that’s because being a great boss requires introspection and feedback, it requires commitment and devotion, it is not simple and it is not easy. And to make it even more challenging, just when you think you’ve mastered something, things change, and what worked one day in one situation and with one person, may not work the next day. If you want to be a great, or at least a good boss, you need to practice, and at the same time adopt a flexible and fluid attitude and approach, setting you up to ride the waves and keep on sailing.
6. You get promoted because you’re a great boss – Wrong, you get promoted to be a boss because you were able to do your previous job well. And though this can help you teach your people all that you’ve learned, it’s not automatically going to make you a great boss. In fact, as a new boss, you’re going to have to let go of being the person who knew everything, the person who had all the answers, and the person who focused on your performance. You’ll need to do things very differently going forward.

If you would like to book Debra or similar diversity and inclusion speakers, mental health and wellbeing speakers or motivational speakers in the UK, please contact The Right Address event speaker agency on +44(0)1895 827 800 or enquiries@therightaddress.co.uk