Bosses, the good the bad and the ugly.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to work for all sorts of folks. We have all worked for the nightmare boss. The 7:30 - 5:30 boss that came from an industrial generation that felt as long as you were at your desk you were working (didn't matter what you were doing as long as he/she could see you doing something). We have also had those bosses that harnessed our creativity, focused on our strong points and helped us along our career paths.

You can learn from both of these types on what to do and not do if and when you assume the position of "the boss". DO give your employees the wings so they can fly, one of my favorite bosses liked to say that he would "give me just enough leash to hang myself on".

My rules for managing me are simple: 1. Leave me alone so I can do my job (very Generation X I know), and 2. always have my back. That is it, simple really and I think most employees are looking to have that level of freedom to operate, knowing they have their boss's support and that they will stand up for you if need be.

Now the bad. I called him Captain &*(^$&head. He deserved the name trust me. If there was a forest in front of him, he would notice the one tree that had something wrong with it. It wasn't his fault, we had a generational difference that we could never overcome.  Favorite comment of all time? I was looking to workout a different schedule to accomodate the needs of my newborn son (two working parents doing the usual juggling). And here is the comment that left me seething "your wife should be home with the kids, that is how it was when my kids were young". WOW! Thanks Captain (starting to get the nickname now?), super helpful and full of empathy!

I still took away some useful things from this horrible boss. First, trust your employees, your job isn't to nit pick them or manage their schedule, at the end of the day your focus should be on their strengths and quite frankly if the reports are there (i.e. they are hitting or exceeding their numbers), then sit back and steer them. Don't try to make them like you, they never will be.

More bad. My first boss laughed when I told her I wanted to be a commercial lender, and that I would do it in five years. I was in loan operations, fresh out of college, full of piss and vinegar, but she insisted that I would never get to lending from operations. So I took that as some insane motivation and 4.5 years later was happy to call her when I had achieved my goal. What did I take from her? Don't kill a dream, find a way to help that person achieve it.

A few bosses were the best of the best. Those that took you under their wing, recognized your potential, and worked toward helping you get where you want to be. These are the bosses you want to emulate. These are the bosses that take the extra time to explain things to you, listen to you, and spend real time with you getting to know who you are. I have been lucky to have had a career path sprinkled with these folks at the seemingly right time, and I'm thankful for each and every one of them.

If and when you get the chance, become the boss you would want to work for. Good luck.