You didn't suddenly wake up one morning and become a different person just because you' re someone's boss. Remember that your first responsibility is to lead people to greater results. They express appreciation for routine tasks, as well as for outstanding performance. We can't believe we even have to mention this one, because it's so obvious. But we'll keep bringing it up as long as managers keep forgetting to say thanks for the thousands of seemingly unremarkable tasks that get done every day, and without which the business would certainly fail.
Great bosses keep hiring and performance standards high.
They don't suffer slackers. They don't buy into the myth that in a tight labor market, you have to hire anyone who can exchange gases with the atmosphere, nor do you have to settle for substandard work. Instead, they have a habit of attracting extraordinary groups of people to do extraordinary work. In short, they expect a lot, and they get it. They involve employees in decision making.