Why good bosses tune in to their people - McKinsey Quarterly - Leadership - Prof. Bob Sutton, Stanford

The problem
As the boss, you are the most important person in the organization, and subordinates monitor, magnify, and mimic your every move. You need to stay in tune with this relentless attention and use it to your advantage.

Why it matters
Your success and influence as boss depends on correctly reading those with whom you interact
most frequently and intensely. Because your leadership style reverberates throughout the organization,
ultimately it will bolster or undermine company performance and culture.

What you should do about it
The first and most important task is to convince others that you are in charge, otherwise your job will
be impossible and your tenure short. Second, boost your subordinates’ performance by “watching their
backs”: making it possible for them to learn, take intelligent risks, and feel pride and dignity along
the way.

Stanford management professor Bob Sutton offers some pointed advicefor those at the top of organizations. Know how to project power, he counsels, since those you lead need to believe you have it for it to be effective. And to lock in your team’s loyalty, boldly defend their backs.

From McKinsey Quarterly . Download and read  the full article here.