You may have inherited, hired, or promoted people who you’ve recognized and rewarded for exceptional production and output—only to hear rumblings that they're getting those results in ways that damage your company’s reputation, aggravating fellow team members and undermining everything that you’re trying to accomplish for the long term. These are usually me-first versus we-first people who put their interests before the Core Values of the organization.

In the meantime, they continue to produce results, but they get those results in ways that go against the company culture. In other words, while they are highly productive short-term, they're killing your company long-term.

If you’re like most bosses, you do most of the talking. Frankly, this one-way-street behavior needs to change. Your job is to ensure that the dialogue is 80/20, where your direct report is doing 80% of the talking and you’re talking only 20% of the time. The only way to make that happen is to ask questions instead of making statements.

Here’s a guiding principle that will separate you from the pack of not-so-good bosses: A great boss creates a work environment where people are fully engaged and highly accountable.

How would you rate the level of accountability in your organization, on a scale of 1–10? If you’re like most bosses, you’d rate accountability low—maybe a 4. It’s one of the many people issues that frustrate you. You assign jobs to your people, only to be frustrated when they don’t follow through and accomplish them.

There are four truths that you must embrace if you truly desire to be a great boss. If you don’t embrace them, no amount of reading, teaching, coaching, or effort will make you great.

When I first meet with a small business leadership team, I always ask them to rate the how accountable their team is on a scale of 1 to 10. The average among teams is a 4. And inevitably there is a comment or statement made that “I wish our people were more accountable.” The question that soon follows is, “Mike, can you help me make my people more accountable?”

My answer is, No.

Ever notice how everyone in a workplace knows who the bad boss is—except the bad boss? If you’re supervising others, and you’re frustrated with their performance, it’s possible that the problem isn’t your team. You could be the not-so-great boss.

Truthfully, every boss has areas for growth. Most bosses have strong qualities as well as opportunities for improvement. But a great boss consistently exemplifies strong leadership and management qualities.

Our infographic, Are You a Great Boss or a Not-So-Great Boss, highlights the common traits of both kinds of bosses. It also reveals the difference between leadership and management—and explains why you need both.