I recently read an article by Brigette Hyacinth, an author, on how one of her bosses had a profound effect on her and even though he left the company years ago, she cannot forget him or the lessons she and others learnt.
It made me think about some of my experiences over the course of my 26-year career and how fortunate I have been to work for some great bosses. Some of them remain mentors to me and I often ‘hear’ myself repeating the sayings to the members of my team, especially those starting their careers.
Recently I changed jobs and one of the key drivers for my decision was some of the managers who I worked with, their values and how they viewed my contribution. Needless to say I won’t go into details but will channel my energy in this blog on highlighting the positive traits of some of my great bosses.
Some of the qualities they have:
- Integrity: This is a fundamental pillar that is so often lacking. Do things the right way regardless!
- Human: They are approachable and treat people, whether it’s the CEO or Janitor, with respect.
- Emotional Intelligence: Awareness of the situation, and an innate ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
- Authentic: This is a term I used sparingly, but I really connect and relate to people who are authentic (could be replaced with the words sincere or genuine) in their actions and feelings.
- Presence: not to be mistaken with arrogance or ego. You know that they are in the room or meeting.
- Communication: A lot of the issues in the world, be it business or personal lives, are driven by poor communication or lack of it. They provided clear, concise and consistent communication to their teams, regardless if it was good or bad news.
- Inspiring: They exhibit trust in you/your teams through positive affirmation. All led by example and made you want to go the extra mile.
I have been very fortunate as have had more than one good boss- if you do get one- learn from them and value them.