If You’re Going to be Your Own Boss, Be a Good One

Summary

The article discusses the importance of being a supportive and effective boss to oneself, especially when self-employed, by adopting ten key behaviors identified by Google's research.

Abstract

The author reflects on their personal experience as a freelance writer, acknowledging the challenges of self-management and the tendency to be overly critical and demanding towards oneself. The article highlights the need for self-compassion and effective management skills, drawing on Google's research which outlines ten characteristics of a good boss. These include coaching, empowering team members, fostering an inclusive environment, focusing on results, communicating effectively, supporting career development, creating a clear vision, utilizing technical skills, collaborating effectively, and making strong decisions. The author recognizes the importance of applying these principles to oneself to improve productivity, well-being, and career satisfaction, emphasizing the need for work-life balance and self-care, especially in the context of freelancing during difficult times such as a global pandemic.

Opinions

The author views themselves as a harsh and demanding boss to themselves, pushing for perfection and overworking.
There is an acknowledgment that self-employment requires being an effective leader to oneself, beyond just being efficient and hardworking.
The author identifies with being a perfectionist, type three, and workaholic, which contributes to their struggle with self-management.
Google's research on good boss characteristics is presented as a benchmark for self-improvement in the context of self-employment.
The author admits to needing improvement in several areas, such as encouraging themselves, focusing on successes, and allowing for self-care through breaks.
The article suggests that taking care of one's well-being is crucial for maintaining productivity and achieving long-term success.
The author encourages other freelancers to adopt a similar approach to self-management, recognizing the shared challenges and the importance of self-compassion in a demanding work environment.

10 ways to be your best boss

Photo: Vana Ash/Unsplash

“You’re an awful boss,” she told me.

Given that she said this after I’d sobbed over my inability to do any more work after hours of hard work, she wasn’t wrong. As a freelance writer, I’m an awful boss to myself. I expect too much completion and too much perfection.

The funny thing is, one of several reasons why I pursued freelance writing was because I like the idea of working for myself. I’m efficient and hardworking; I’m driven and passionate. I don’t need someone else pushing me to get things done. While I’ve had several good bosses, authoritative figures sometimes make me uncomfortable.

But as a perfectionist, type three, and workaholic, I don’t make for the best boss for myself. I’m much harsher on myself than I am on other people.

I realized that if I’m going to be my own boss, I need to be a good one.

For over a decade, Google completed research under a fake name on what characteristics make a “good boss.” According to their study, a good boss does 10 things:

Coaches well: Uses problems as teaching moments and guides teams so they can grow.

Empowers instead of micromanages: Gives people the freedom to try out new things and gives them the tools to succeed, allowing for flexibility.

Creates an inclusive environment focused on success and well-being: Helps people feel safe sharing their ideas and opinions in which they can trust each other and not be ridiculed.

Centers on results and is productive: Sets good examples and is willing to get down in the “nitty-gritty” to help their team in a motivating way.

Communicates well, both with listening and sharing: Listens to team members with the goal of understanding, and being empathetic to their thoughts and needs. Additionally, not being afraid to explain the “why” and the context behind situations — transparency is key.

Supports career advancement and discusses performance: Gives praise and constructive criticism to team members, and helps them reach their personal career goals.

Creates a clear vision and strategy for the team: Knows where the team is, where they want them to be, and helps them get there. Makes sure team members understand their role in the strategy.

Utilizes technical skills to advise the team: Understands how different people and jobs work and what challenges they face. Gains trust before making drastic and potentially unhelpful changes.

Collaborates effectively: Works for the good of the company as a whole rather than pits team members against each other.

Makes strong decisions: Makes and commits to decisions, even if others don’t agree.

After reading this, I asked myself: Do I do these 10 things? Do I do them successfully and effectively?

Well, I’ll put it this way: I could use a little work.

For starters, I need to encourage myself more. I need to focus more on my successes than my failures, while also realizing that a traditional “failure” doesn’t mean I’m not good at what I do. I focus enough on working for success, but I need to focus on sustaining my well-being within that too.

Further, I need to communicate better with myself. When my body says, “I’m tired, I need a break,” I should give it one. If we want to be productive and efficient workers, we have to allow ourselves to take breaks and take care of ourselves. Work-life balance and boundaries are so important.

I also need to look more at the bigger picture and create strategies that will help me achieve my goals. For example, I started to tweet my articles on a Twitter account created specifically for my career and my goal of increasing readership. However, I haven’t looked at the analytics yet. I could benefit from trying to figure out which posting times and hashtags are most successful. Additionally, I could benefit from taking a closer look at what articles were successful and why, so I can write similar ones.

If you’re in a similar predicament, I want you to know that you’re not alone. Being a freelancer, especially in a capitalist country during a global pandemic, is tough. I fully understand being hard on yourself and feeling pressure to work constantly. I also acknowledge that I have a financial privilege that others don’t, making their lives and careers even more stressful than my own.

At the same time, I think we should check in with ourselves more and realize that you can’t pour from an empty cup. We should believe in ourselves and our abilities.

We should work smarter, not harder. We should be content with what we do, knowing we’re doing the best we can, and that that’s enough.

Everything will work out — it always does.

If You’re Going to Be Your Own Boss, Be a Good One

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