Bosses come in various forms. Some rule with an iron hand, others take instructions from on high and then make sure the orders are carried out by underlings, and others truly inspire everyone on their team. It’s not surprising that an inspiring manager is likely the most effective, but it’s up to the HR department to keep the managers-as-leaders philosophy on track. 
Mary Anne Kennedy, principal consultant at MAK HR Consulting, LLC, a New Jersey-based human resources advisory firm, advises organizations to explore how they can train managers to communicate and inspire, coach and mentor, and lead by example. She recently conducted a webinar titled “Boss-Building Strategies: Essential Steps for Developing a Better Leader” in which she outlined traits of top leaders and why managers should aspire to be leaders, not mere bosses.
Effective leaders possess traits such as integrity, dependability, drive, endurance, enthusiasm, self-confidence, high ethical and moral character, intelligence, decision-making ability, a willingness to accept authority, the ability to influence others, and thorough knowledge of an organization and how to meet its vision and mission, Kennedy says.
Not all managers make good leaders,
but training can help anyone improve
Sometimes managers don’t even know that they should do more than just give orders, Kennedy says. They may not understand what it takes to truly lead, but a good leader is driven, accepts authority, and builds trusting relationships.
“They don’t just sit on laurels and take command from the person above them and then drive that back down,” Kennedy said in her webinar. “I often call it Teflon. When you have a manager that says, ‘Oh, the guy above me tells me I have to tell you to do this.’ You’re not the leader then. Seriously, move out of the way. You’ve just fired yourself.”
Leaders who don’t believe in what the people above them ask them to do need to speak out. “Leaders step up,” Kennedy says.
Not all managers are going to make good leaders, Kennedy says, “but it’s also true that most managers will benefit from leadership training.”
How to go beyond managing to coaching
To inspire employees “to reach beyond themselves and do more than what they originally thought possible” should be a leader/manager’s goal, and coaching and mentoring are important to achieving that goal, Kennedy says.
A coach-mentor has no other agenda except to see employees grow. Such a leader will give employees the honest truth without worrying about hurting the employee’s feelings, Kennedy says, adding that a manager’s No. 1 goal should be to be a coach.
Coaching and mentoring programs can be formal, informal, or a mix of both. Sometimes there will be a scheduled program, but other times coaching can happen on the spot.
“Coaching is a very critical component of your leadership tool bag,” Kennedy says. It’s important for a leader as coach and mentor to use walking-around skills, she says, and not just rely on what others say about an employee. If someone in the organization tells a manager how a person on the manager’s team is falling short, the manager should go to the trouble to observe the team member personally. “You can’t coach something if you haven’t witnessed it yourself,” she says.
“Coaching empowers employees to succeed. Coaching also informs, lets employees know what they’ve done well and what they need to improve,” Kennedy says. It also “recognizes and builds on employee accomplishments.”
Pay attention to the whole team and make hard decisions
Even top performers benefit from coaching, and Kennedy advocates spending plenty of time with the best employees instead of spending the most time with the low performers. Spending time with top performers is a retention practice to keep them motivated. Too often the best performers are neglected because they’re doing so well, but leaders need to keep the top performer “train moving.”
“Top performers need frequent feedback about their performance, often more than others,” Kennedy says. “Don’t assume they know that they’re noticed and appreciated.”
Average performers also need coaching. Kennedy says managers of average performers need to determine if the employees doing the best they’re capable of doing. Those who are meeting expectations still have “a great evaluation,” but a manager can use coaching sessions to find out if they’re capable of doing more.
When coaching employees who aren’t meeting expectations, managers need to look for answers. “People do not wake up in the morning and say as they get themselves ready for work, “I can’t wait to get there so I can mess everything up.’ No one wants to do that,” Kennedy says.
When someone isn’t meeting expectations, it’s because they’re in the wrong job or they don’t have the skill or capability, Kennedy says, so it’s critical for managers to recognize the talent that people need to be successful and when they don’t have it, managers need to help them move on–in a respectful way.
Yelling and screaming doesn’t do any good. Instead, “consider the reason why people aren’t performing well,” Kennedy says. Then the manager and employee can put together a solution and agree on an action plan that will be sustainable.