As a boss, all the spectacular plans and wonderful technical skills won’t make you a success if you don’t learn how to manage people. Here are the essentials:

Sincere praise works wonders. When people do well, use it as a coaching opportunity. Spell out exactly what they did well and why, and personalize it; don't just give one-size-fits-all praise to everyone.

Be careful of hyperbole - few reports are truly “spectacular” - but praising your best people once a week isn’t overdoing it.

Criticize prudently. Before you reprimand anyone, do your homework and be analytical. Maybe a worker who is always late has a bad attitude, or maybe she has child-care problems. Does the tardiness harm the business, or is it simply a pet peeve of yours?

Make the criticism immediate; don’t sandbag somebody with a 4-month-old critique at performance review time. Explain how the worker can do better in the future.

Whenever possible, don’t mix praise with criticism. Your worst workers might hear only the praise, and your best workers might hear only the criticism.

Focus on results, not methods. You want to kill enthusiasm? Micromanage. Instead, give people a goal, then get out of the way unless they ask for help or appear to be in over their heads.

Talk the talk. Explain why changes are being made. Tell people why their ideas won’t work. Help employees understand why the company is spending lots of money on something other than pay raises.

Show you care. Work with people to develop their strengths and cope with their weaknesses. Help them accomplish their career goals. When they express concerns, try to see things from their point of view rather than simply defending yourself.

The best bosses understand that they’re managing people, not merely workers.