Why a Good Boss Must Have A High Level of Self-Esteem.

Only a manager with high self-esteem can be a good boss, because it is important not only what the manager does, but also - how he manages himself and others. In the business environment, self-confidence is often confused with a sense of value, which translates into the manager's way of thinking and behavior with oneself and others. This high self-esteem determines whether the manager will present a healthy attitude of self-confidence and how he will cope with challenges in everyday work with people.

On what the manager builds his or her self-esteem.

During the workshops for managerial staff, when we talk about what they build their boss's authority on, managers often declare a high level of self-esteem. They make it dependent on the successes they achieve, the quantity and quality of tasks they undertake, being liked and accepted by their superiors, co-workers or subordinates, dedication to the company, team or individual employees, and the opinions of others about their skills, competencies, and values. 

They are surprised by feedback that these are the traps they have fallen into, making their value dependent on external factors. It is worth remembering that the sense of value depends only on the individual self-esteem of the manager, and it is the manager who decides how much he is worth to himself - regardless of what happens in his environment. 

The self-esteem has an impact on the quality of life of a manager, his or her effectiveness in managing a team, building relationships with people, the way of achieving goals, and the successes he or she wants to make.

READ MORE: 5 practical actions to improving your self-esteem

 The behavior of a manager with a high self-esteem

Unfortunately, the way a manager thinks about himself is sometimes different from the way he behaves. So it is worth paying attention to the coherence of these two perspectives: thinking and acting. Consistency guarantees the manager greater comfort of work, reliability, authenticity, and leading people.

Here are some indicators that you can use to show that the manager has high self-esteem:

• Self-knowledge - thanks to which the manager is aware of his strong points and limitations, he can use them. He also responds with humility and acceptance to feedback on what is his strengths and what he needs to work on. He Respects himself, is understanding for himself. He Can take care of himself in different areas of his life. Thanks to this, he maintains peace and stability, thus building a sense of security and predictability in cooperation with the team.

• Living a conscious life here and now - allows a manager to focus on what he or she has influence over, appreciate what he or she has, and actively search for effective ways to meet his or her needs and take advantage of opportunities.

• An idea for oneself - the manager has a concept of oneself (private and business life), defined goals and dreams, consistently strives to achieve them based on developed action plans.

• Admitting mistakes and learning from experience - because thanks to this, the manager grows as a person, but also develops in the role of a boss and a leader.

• Responsibility - understands the importance of accountability for oneself and others. The manager takes responsibility in the areas of his/her perception of reality, making decisions, searching for solutions, generating his/her emotions, introducing changes and improvements, developing his/her personal and business competencies, verifying his/her norms, standards and expectations, taking care of the quality of his/her life and work.

• Openness to sharing knowledge and experience with others, because it brings value in relations with people, strengthens cooperation, and teamwork.

• Flexibility in confronting reality, challenges, and information from the environment - the manager verifies his views and habits because he knows that there is nothing permanent and changes around him require from him also changes in his way of thinking, acting, or reactions.

• Sensitivity to one's own and others' needs, and adequate response to them.

• Assuming good intentions of other people - which allows the manager to build trust and understanding with other people.

• Positive attitude towards oneself and others- maintaining optimism under challenging situations, faith in people, and seeing them as "good."

• Support others in their work and development by sharing their knowledge and experience.

• Healthy self-confidence - because thanks to such attitude, the manager with courage and assertiveness sets his limits, reacts to situations, faces difficulties, builds his position in the group, in a partnership way establishes and develops relationships with others, inspires and sets an excellent example to his subordinates.

READ MORE: Characteristics of people with low self-esteem

And maybe you'll think it's a description of some ideal. Nothing could be further from the truth. In everyday life, rarely any manager thinks about high self-esteem, and it is easier to notice people who have opposite qualities and behaviors, get used to them and even accept them, considering them to be the norm after some time.

You've probably seen someone many times who abuses self-confidence and is further promoted and valued by an organization, keeps knowledge for himself and does not share it with others, complains and criticises, ignores the needs of employees or co-workers, resists change, focuses on what he can get from others and not on what he can give of himself, concentrates on what he has been or will be in the distant future without paying attention to what is today, cannot accept compliments, but also responds aggressively to criticism...; realizes other people's ideas for himself and his role as a manager. Because you often have contact with such people - you start to think that the whole world is like that and this is the way to success.