How to become a #BOSS
Before I started Chasing Linen, I had my fair share of day jobs including: selling Cutco knives door-to-door, waitressing at a sports bar/sushi restaurant, private swim instructor/tutor, set designer, social media manager, managing wholesale accounts and the list goes on. Naturally, with all of these different positions, I’ve worked under many different bosses. Some were great, while others were just plain horrible. I’m sure the movie Horrible Bosses was inspired by real life events, because let’s be real, they totally exist.
I am not a huge fan of negative labels, so for the sake of being kind, let’s label these “good & bad” as more of “effective & ineffective”. I will say though that I’ve learned a TON from these ineffective bosses - maybe even MORE from them, because it taught me what NOT to do. Looking back, I didn’t realize how effective & supportive some of my bosses were because they weren’t as LOUD as the ineffective ones. Similarly, when I started to hire team members of my own, it was the mistakes that taught me more than the things I did right.
So with that said, let’s dive into what it means to be a #BOSS. That is such a hot word right now and I honestly included that in the title to grab your attention - and to celebrate National Boss’ Day ;) Being a boss is not all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it comes with some challenges such as: having tough decisions to make, difficult confrontations & dealing with conflict to name a few. I’ve only played the role of being someone’s “boss” for a little over 2 years now, but through it I definitely have learned a lot about leadership. For anyone who is starting to hire team members or for those who want to eventually become a #boss, I put together a few helpful tips & lessons I have learned.
1. “Leaders eat last”
I love this phrase & book title by Simon Sinek, because it sums up what effective leaders do. In order to lead people, you must be willing to serve them. Sure, you can be the type of leader that eats first and leaves the scraps for their employees, but how will that serve you?? When you are in a leadership or boss role, you are in the business of working with people and dealing with their human emotions. Be humble, put your head down, and focus on lifting others up. When they succeed, you succeed as well!
2. Boundaries are essential
As a natural people pleaser, this one was really hard. I remember wanting to be a “cool boss” when I hired my very first intern. For example, I told her there were no set hours and that she could work whenever fit her schedule. I was super flexible and almost set the job around her schedule, instead of what the business needed. While being adaptable is great, the lack of boundaries created bad work habits and ultimately, an ineffective employee. I quickly learned that it’s much better to be more direct & structured right away and create boundaries up front. This has allowed me to be more flexible and easy-going later on.
3. Be consistent and keep your word
If you’re a solopreneur, your schedule might be all over the map. For me, this was my biggest strength and weakness once I started to hire people. I was susceptible to my surroundings and often let that dictate my schedule rather than following through with what I said. While this is okay to do on occasion, do NOT let this become a norm. If you do not commit to your word, people will naturally start to lose trust in what you say. Be extra intentional at the beginning and make sure you can follow through on the commitments that you make. Don’t promise something unless you can deliver on it! This is something that I still struggle with from time to time and am constantly striving after.
4. Invite collaboration
I am reminded of a conversation I once had with a fellow entrepreneur friend of mine, Jenny. I was telling her about how great my new intern was, except that she just didn’t seem to care deeply about my company like I did. She replied, “Your business is your baby. No one will love your baby the way you do and no one will bleed for your business the way you will.” I loved this so much! It’s kind of an intense metaphor, but it really resonated with me because I realized my expectations were unrealistic. You can’t expect others to care about YOUR company in the same way you do! But, I have found that people start to care MORE if you invite them to be a part of your business. Work WITH people and collaborate with your team! You don’t have to take every piece of advice or input, but your team will appreciate you hearing them out. And oftentimes (if you’ve hired the right people), your business will flourish because of it.
5. Be yourself
One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is called The Leadership Podcast by Craig Groeschel. He gives really practical advice on how to be a good leader while being realistic about human flaws and habits. At the end of each episode he says “Be yourself. People would rather follow a leader who is always real rather than a leader who is always right.” This resonates with me every time I hear it & I try to exemplify this in myself & my business daily. It’s okay to be human with your employees and be honest when you make mistakes. Humility is what makes someone a great effective leader, not perfectionism.
Being a leader or a #boss really is countercultural to what most people might think!
To me, a boss or a leader is the person in the room who is the most humble and servant hearted. They set the tone and lead by example for their team members. If you are trying to be a similar boss, this means you have to be willing to BE the person you’re asking others to be. If you’re not ready to do that, I would honestly reevaluate why you want to be a boss in the first place. Is it for the title? Is it because it sounds cool? I’m not trying to be harsh but if that’s truly the main motive, maybe it’s not the right time. But if it is your time, just know that it is so dang rewarding! Being able to bring people into what I’ve built has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of running my business and I am truly thankful for each of my girls.