What Makes a Great Boss

As most of us spend the majority of our time and our lives working for someone else, it behooves us to make the most of these hours in a pleasant, if not enjoyable, atmosphere. In today's working environment, we must work as a team - on projects, day-to-day activities, even decisions are often group based. What usually keeps that team together is the boss! So what makes a great boss?

Top of the list is mutual respect. If the boss cannot respect you - how can the boss expect respect back? An old way of business thinking was that the boss was right - take it or leave it. Today though, projects are often "handed down" - which means a team works on the project, taking both praise and criticism. It's not the boss that's right or wrong, but the team. Without respect coming from the boss to ALL participants, it is often hard for co-workers to promote respect amongst each other, let alone back to the boss. And without respect, individuals may not do the best work they are capable of, nor want to do the best work.

Next is support. You need to know the boss is willing to support you in your dealings with clients, customers, and co-workers (although this last one is more complex, as the boss has to support ALL co-workers in a fair assessment of the situation). If the client's demands or complaints are unreasonable, and you have tried to work with both the company's best interests as well as the client's - you need the support your boss can give you if the problem cannot be resolved between you and the client. Does your boss try to promote both the company's and your position while not demoting your work or time and effort? In times of trouble, can you count on your boss to help out?

Another point to consider is if your boss understands....not you, but the situation/work load AND you. Yes, this really is a continuation of support - but important enough to stand on its own. Understanding means the situation can change, as can you - and that each situation must be judged on its own, not just taken from a previous encounter. Does your boss understand that sometimes you need to leave early, but make up the time on other days? Does your boss understand you do not like to work with certain individuals but will still make every effort to help the team get ahead?

And let's not just blame the boss if the situation at work isn't great. Remember - you are part of that team too. Great bosses are not always born, some are made - and you can help "make a boss great" by also supporting and ??? (can you guess what the ??? mean?) - but more on that next article!

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Copyright March 15, 2007. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

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