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Prescription to Business Leaders
Prescription to Business Leaders
November 4, 2003
"An eight-year study of two hundred employees at AT&T found that gentle leadership is actually good medicine. 'A good boss offers genuine protection against illness,' concluded one researcher, Dr. Fredrick Koenig, professor of social psychology at New Orleans' Tulane University. 'Workers whose bosses are less than helpful are often likely to become ill through stress. A bad boss can lead to problems including heart disease, insomnia, gastrointestinal distress, high blood cholesterol, and depression.'
Koenig offered this prescription to business leaders who want to safeguard the health and effectiveness of their workforce.
1. Stand behind the decisions your employees make.
2. Sit down and talk things over with your employees.
3. Let you employees feel free to ask you to reconsider a decision you have made.
4. Respect your employees and ask for their opinions.
5. Listen to your employees' personal problems that could affect their work.
6. Compliment your people on their work.
7. Make it easy for employees to feel they're on top of what they're doing.
8. Allow your employees to offer constructive criticism without fear of reprisal.
9. Give your employees full credit for ideas they contribute at work so they will feel more a part of the organization.
10. Make suggestions that will help employees improve their work (Williams, 2002, p. 87-88)."
Reference: Williams, P. (2002). The paradox of power: a transforming view of leadership. New York: Warner Books.
Does your leadership style make others sick?
Powerful Leadership is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/
Helpful Hint: Looking for a past Leadership Moment? Look no further...Leadership Moments is published on the OSU Leadership Center website. Click on: http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/Publications/Leadership_Moments/leadership_moments.htm and you'll have access to articles from 1999 to date.
Created: 2008-12-22, Updated: 2009-01-07
