Recently I came across this
post about how a good boss was someone who cared. Might sound cheesy or
self-evident but when I read through the post it dawned on me that it was
neither.
I started thinking about all
the bosses I had had in my career whom I admired, looked up to,
revered, respected, was still in touch with, and I realised that all of them
were very different in terms of their intelligence,
knowledge, working style, personality, approach, goals and so on but
the one thing that stood out to me as a common thread was that, yes, they
cared. They cared about me as a human being rather than an employee, they cared
about me as a person and an individual, they showed by various gestures and
words that I mattered to them in the scheme of things, that if
I disappeared the next day I would not be eminently replaceable, that
I wasn't just one of the cogs in the wheel, that they were genuinely
interested in my progress for my own sake, that they appreciated me
not just as a member of the workplace but as someone who held an important
space in their professional life. There was a high level of trust between us
which did not come about overnight but once it was established they let me be
my own boss, or in other words, their equal. I guess that was their way of
showing me that they cared about my development and understood how I worked
best...and yet they were always there for me if I needed a shoulder to cry
on (which I did often!)
I guess I have been very lucky
to have the best of bosses. Even when I had the not-so-good ones they luckily
didn't last long, and they taught me to appreciate the good ones even more.
Seems to me that underneath our suits and power dresses we are all
just human and what we crave for the most is not leadership or inspiration
or motivation or empowerment or engagement or any other old- and new-fangled management
doses... we simply crave to work for those who truly care (no wonder it is
said that people don’t leave organisations; they leave bosses!).
posted by Sylvia D'souza at 3:39 am
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