Who Cares About National Boss Day?
Today is National Boss Day. (Hallmark remembered it; did you?) A lot of people feel it's just another excuse to sell cards, and that it might be awkward to give or receive a token of esteem. Since you're probably on both sides of the table on this one, the day may get acknowledged whether you buy into it or not. So here's a little Boss-Day kit for you -- complete with insight into the day's origins, tips for being a great boss, and quotes about being a leader.
Fiction: National Boss Day honors Bruce Springsteen.
Fact: Patricia Bays Haroski, a State Farm Insurance employee, started National Boss Day in 1958 in honor of her father.
Not sure what affect you have on your employees lives? It may be way more than you think. Although more than half of Generation Y workers (53 percent) say their relationship with their boss has no impact on their work-life happiness, older Americans feel a little differently; 62 percent of baby boomers claim their bosses have a strong impact on their day-to-day lives.
Want to be a better boss? Just remember, great bosses:
Get the Small Picture. Great bosses remember their employees have a much different perspective from the trenches, and they take this into account in words and in action.
Make People Feel Smart. Great bosses look for the potential in their employees' ideas; they work with them until they produce something workable and smart.
Know Who Does What. Great bosses talk often with managers about how individuals are doing, but also about specifically what they're doing.
Know When They're Not Wanted. Great bosses delegate and then trust their employees without needing to monitor the process. They know when to give their employees room to grow, and don't suffocate that process.
Remember -- all the important details; their employees' quirks, hobbies, and career aspirations.
"If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings." ~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"
The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate you away from those who are still undecided. ~Casey Stengal
Happy Boss Day!
(World's Best Boss image by doobybrain)