Be more than a boss, be a mentor

I have been on a mission to live out the roles of authority God has given me as a mentor. Whether it is as a parent, boss or a bible study leader. I want to see my role in each of these as an opportunity to help those around me grow into their gifts and talents. When I think about the bosses I have had in my life I count myself blessed. I am thankful the men and women the Lord put in my life, as my authority, saw me as a whole person. The lessons they taught me applied not only to my working life but flowed over to my personal life as well. As a business owner or manager, we can do so much more than merely getting tasks done, greet a customer or get an extra sale.

We can inspire a positive atmosphere in the workplace and change the lives of our employees. We have an opportunity to cultivate, train and give life to those God has entrusted to us. When we see our employees gifts and talents, then give them opportunities to use them, they see first hand what they are capable of doing. Here are five things that I believe are part of a bosses job description.

1. Communicate
   The best thing I can do for my employees and the success of our business is to make sure we define what communication looks like in our office. “In the absence of communication, harry monsters grow.” We want to make sure everyone knows how to effectively communicate positively with each other, our customers and themselves. I also need to make sure those in my employment clearly understand what their job description entails.
2. Give them achievable goals
   The times I have grown the most was when a boss saw a capability in me I didn’t even know existed. They would give me tasks to help me develop the skills I needed to grow even more into the ability they saw. It took patience on their part as I gained the emotional, mental and confidence to take over the task by myself.
3. Give them truthful, new messages
   Our employees come into the office with a world of hurt on their shoulders. These hurts leave wounds and messages that keep a person from growing. We have the opportunity to change the internal messages of our employee’s heart. We get to tell them what a fantastic person they are, how much they are capable of achieving and tell them we appreciate the hard work they put into their job. When we give affirming messages teaches them to affirm and look for the best in our customers, and in turn, it inspires the customer to leave our business ready to make the world a better place.
4. Reprimands have the ability to teach love
   In our house we have a saying, “You made a mistake, you are not the mistake.” This saying is huge in our kid’s ability to bounce back and keep going. Instead of having to take time to pump themselves up and restore their worth, they know they already have worth. They can evaluate what went wrong, why it went wrong and then take steps to fix the problem. This same concept is true when dealing with employee mistakes. It is also crucial for me to be patient, approachable. Setting an atmosphere of desiring to help them be problem solvers, which sometimes involves seeking wise counsel. The best counsel is from the leaders. Thus I need to be approachable and be willing to be vulnerable and teach during the time’s mistakes are made.
5.  Reward and appreciate their effort
   Think about the times you did a job well done and were rewarded. Now, think about the times you did a job well done and did not get rewarded. The emotions and feelings of both are powerful. One of the things I hear from leaders is “I didn’t have that, why should they,” “I had to figure it out on my own, so can they.” This kind of talk is death to businesses and employees. It is rooted in bitterness, rejection and hurt. Rise above this thinking and be willing to be approachable to help those God has entrusted to your leadership. When our employees are rewarded, it acknowledges them as a human being, and in return, customers are satisfied because the employee is satisfied.

Being in a position of authority and leadership is a blessing, but it is a position we need to use to help those entrusted to us to rise and to fly more confidently, skilled and more emotionally healthy than before they came to us.