10 Traits of a Popular Boss

There are bosses and then there is The Boss. There is obviously a lot of difference between the two. While Bosses are seldom remembered, The Boss is never really forgotten. There are certain character traits that make a Boss. The attempt to write this blog is to see if we can get to The Boss from the  bosses,to someone extraordinary, par excellence.

In my career I have had different kinds of Bosses, the kind sympathetic ones to the Devils. I had one such devil to contend with midway into my career. Its tough to classify him as a devil for his mood would would vary between being an absolute angel to being a Devil of all Devils. As a boss you can never swing like a pendulum, especially as far as your character traits are concerned. You have to remain constant to be even perceived as a leader who can be relied upon. I have had more than twenty years of experience in the corporate world and perhaps I can count the best boss I had was in the year 2010. I would not wish to take names here but then I would love to stress on what qualified him to be the Best Boss Ever:

Considerate: He would give enough opportunity for people to grow. He would help people to come out of their shell. He would point out mistakes yet be considerate enough to give more chances for people to correct their mistakes. he would always give that humane touch in dealing with co-workers and employees.

Always wear a smiling face: I would never ever catch him in a dull moment. He was always full of life and good cheer. He would often place his hand on my shoulder and walk around. It meant a lot, to see that smiling cheerful face. It gave me a reassurance even when the chips were down.

Show the Team in good light: In the eyes of the management He wanted to showcase his team as the best in the world. To that effect he would want the team to always be fleet footed and sharp. He would push me on data. He would advocate me to get my hands on as far as numbers are concerned. He would approach the junior most in the team and have some words of encouragement for him or her. Once the team member would raise his standards he would never fail to appreciate the efforts taken by the concerned team remember. Recognition was always in public while admonition happened within four walls. At the same time, if he felt that his team member had been wronged he would not hesitate in taking up his/her case with the management. The Boss is always a tiger protecting the interest of his cubs.

Expose the Team to Learning: The Boss would always want the team to be abreast with latest skills. He would always push the team to go for courses or seminars that would sharpen their skills. This aquiring of new skills being reinforced is so important for the growth of the individual, may or may not be in the current job. He would then push the management on behalf of the team to see if the said course can be sponsored.

Simplicity and Modesty: The Boss is a very simple man. He would not mind taking the auto or the bus while commuting. He is always the man among the masses. Simplest of restaurants would always fancy his eye. He is never a man for pomp and show. Simple, modest and approachable at all times.

Mix with His People: The Boss would always lead from the front. For the sake of the title of The Boss he did have a cabin of his own but most of the time he would found outside of it. In his own words he hated cabins. I would always find him among his people, counselling someone, giving a pat to someone else and cheering up a third person. He would never shy away from an activity outside of his official duty, a small team game or a team outing.

He knows his Man more than the Man knows himself: Come appraisal time, The Boss is the most dependable person. He would know exactly what the subordinate had achieved. He would always want to give that extra brownie point to his team member. The Boss would tell me, "Look I went through your appraisal form, Please evaluate yourselves again, I genuinely feel that you are down rating yourselves. I feel that you deserve much much more."

The Boss Delegates: The boss always would leave the process of decision making to his teammates. He always has faith that the decision so arrived at would be in the larger interest of the organization. Whether it was an interview process or selection of a candidate, all was delegated. Whether it was an event to be organised or some promotional activity to be taken up, it was always the teams decision that mattered to him. There was something unique that the Boss always did. When he had to recruit someone under him directly, he would form a committee of subordinates who would first interview the candidate before he got involved. The feedback received from the subordinates would serve as valuable inputs. The Boss would then share his own inputs and seek guidance in the appointment of the candidate or otherwise.

The Boss Seeks Feedback: The Boss would always seek proactive feedback from his own subordinates. He had introduced Survey Monkey to all of us. The Boss always wanted to ensure that he himself was on the right path, or that he needed to be corrected. He would openly seek feedback on his own performance. In days of yonder the Kings would go in disguise to understand the problems of his own people and to hear from the common man about what they felt about their ruler. Here there was no such thing. The Boss made it clear that the relationship between him and his subordinates.

Finally on a lighter note but make out of it what a wonderful person The Boss is. He is one who pushes your car while it breaks down while you manoeuvre the steering wheel, and of course The Boss has to be a die hard Roger Federer Fan.