Today is National Boss’s Day - ironic that we celebrate on a Sunday, a traditional day of rest and not working.
Recently I have been reflecting on the boss’s that I’ve had throughout my career. Looking back on all the people that I have called boss, they rank all the way across the spectrum from flat out terrible to a life changing and powerful force. All of them are worthy of celebrating, including the bad ones since those experiences - the good and the bad - collectively make up my perspective. You learn a lot from bad experiences, maybe more than you do from good experiences.
Though some are worthy of more praise than others, all are worth celebrating.
As I’ve grown through the years, my appreciation for a good boss has grown deeper. That includes my current boss, who I get to watch navigate a high paced work environment with a mostly young workforce, but also a multi-generational one. His ability to keep employees focused on the tasks at hand while keeping things fun is impressive. This approach has always been a foundational belief for my own leadership / management approach through the years, so getting to observe it be executed so well is a treat.
How a boss motivates is the key to developing a high functioning team. Fun cannot be underestimated, especially when you are working with 20-something workforces. But honestly fun is also important for any age range. At my work this past week, my boss offered a group of people free ukuleles if they were willing to learn a few chords and sing a song at an upcoming meeting. Remember I work for a music company, where our job is to help people experience the joy of making music, so naturally it makes sense to extend this joy to employees too. This idea is fun - for those learning a new instrument and for those that get to watch the songs being performed. Minimal investment for this idea, but a big return on the investment with team building, shared experiences and fun.
Other bosses in my past didn’t provide ukuleles to motivate, instead taking a darker and more sinister approach. One in particular liked to refer to employees as rats. Not exactly the positive, fun image of my current boss. My job according to my ‘rat boss’ was to walk around the building, find the rats and get rid of the infestation. Negative and positive motivation can work. But if you have a choice, and most bosses do have a choice, I believe the positive approach is better and more sustainable.
The good bosses motivate you to be better employees and strive to achieve your potential naturally. But the really good ones do all of that, plus make you a better person. Thankfully I’ve had way more exceptional bosses than ‘rat bosses’ in my career. I’m a better employee, more efficient, a better innovator and a better leader thanks to the mentoring of my bosses. More importantly, I’m a better person, husband and father because of the really good bosses in my life.
In the past few weeks, it dawned about the impact a few bosses have made on my career and in my life. The impact a few individuals have made on me in some of the non-work portions of my life cannot be denied. In planning for a recent vacation, I found myself frequently quoting a former boss with several of his many memorable phrases (Brad Williams). The detailing of my trip agenda and the use of Google mapping was reminiscent of the organization taught to me (Lori Grass). The entire reason for the trip was driven into me years ago from teachings by a former boss, who stressed the importance of creating ‘rocking chair moments’ (Mark Cohen).
So happy national boss’s day to all my current and past bosses, and to all the boss’s making a difference in work and life decisions.
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