

Being the boss means you are often privy to information that your team isn't. You may learn that a major client is unhappy with your service, or that senior leaders are considering outsourcing your team's work. At these moments, it's easy to feel stuck between your bosses and the people you manage. Do you share the information? Or do you protect your employees from it? Whatever the news, it's up to you to decide whether, when, and how to tell your team.
Want to know the way to an employee's heart? Professionals interviewed by OfficeTeam identified work/life balance (28 percent) and opportunities to learn and grow (27 percent) as the top contributors to their job satisfaction. The results are in line with those from a similar survey in which managers were asked about the factors most tied to employee morale.
A good coach is someone who sees you in action day in and day out and is highly motivated to help you improve. Who does that sound like?
You might think that the corporate human resources function doesn't have much of a role in improving business processes, such as product development, operations, customer service, or distribution. But I've found that it does. HR can propel or inhibit process improvement because it has an outsized influence on people: how they are recruited, rewarded, and developed. In organizations like IBM, Lowe's, and Harvard Vanguard where HR has accelerated change, it has emerged from its compliance and administrative focus to make bold changes in spite of regulations, bureaucratic entanglements, and other barriers.
When you are able to put on the striped black-and-white referee shirt and mediate conflict, you've taken a large step toward becoming a more valuable leader.