I am starting a business and hiring few employees and I need advice. I usually talk to people in polite manner and when asking for things I ask it out as a favor. This method can not work in business environment, we have responsibilities and duties to fulfill.
I do not want to sound rude, bossy, and clash with my employees but I also do not want to have a slack environment where employees just do whatever and expect to get paid by the end of the month. I would like to reach an “efficient, professional, and favorable” work environment . I really would like to avoid firing like the plague.
One trick I learned was instead of telling them to do something, say “lets do this” or “after we finish this, can we do that?”
I had an old grisly former miner tell me I was the only boss he ever had that didn’t tell him what to do. But he always knew what I wanted him to do and when.
But you will have to sound bossy at some point. And you will have to fire someone. Even if it’s just to prove you will. Sometimes, you have someone who won’t quit but wants to be fired. And your employees want you to fire that person. They will see you as a pushover if you let that person hang on.