Do you remember the best boss you ever had? What about the reasons why you considered them to be your best boss? I look back at the kaleidoscope of management I’ve been under and reflect on the different relationships and the various failures and success’s we’ve endured. However, now that i’m a little older, a little wiser, and more seasoned in the workforce, I realized a shift in appreciating the classic “best boss” question. If you would have asked me 10 years ago I would have said it was the manager I had while working at the ski shop when I was 18 that let his team all go home 30 minutes early every day, or maybe it was the bar manager who would take his bartenders out for drinks after a long nights work. Now, I look back and remember the boring bank job with a brand new supervisor who in 1 year made me from entry level teller to an assistant branch manager at 20 years old.
I can appreciate this shift in understanding because it continues to attest to my growth and appreciation for the more important things I’ve learned in business. While yes some jobs were quite fun growing up, the things that resonate and make the most impact later in life are the relationships with people that created a catalyst for growth.
This leader I continue to refer to mirrored every principle of the Path-Goal Theory. The Path-Goal Theory uses specific leadership behaviors that are tailored to both the employee’s personality, and the complexity of the task which will have a direct impact on employee motivation and goal attainment (Northouse, 2013, page 138). Looking back now I can closely recall the times when my supervisor was directive in terms of task completion, supportive in ways that made work feel a lot less like work, he engaged me to participate in my development and goal setting and praised my expertise when it came to his trust in my delivery of quality work (Northouse, 2013, page 140).
Through all my experiences working for and with great and terrible leaders in various industries and levels, without a doubt the most important trait is a leader’s flexibility. Leaders who truly want to help people grow and realize goals need to have a wide range of leadership skills and behaviors to administer when problems need to be overcome or strengths needs to be realized. One of my favorite leadership quotes that encompass the concept of being flexible is one by Bruce Lee. Be water my friends.
References
(n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://midwestoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Worlds-Best-Boss.jpg
Be Water My Friend – Bruce Lee. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHSbMR_udo
Northouse, Peter G. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks,California: Sage Publications Inc.
Laura J Eisenhower says
This post reminded me of a discussion I was having with my coworkers the other day regarding our current manager. Our lesson this week talks about power and influence, and what stood out to me the most were the bases of power. Our current manager adheres to the referent power base, as he tries to be seen more as a friend to the employees rather than a leader to this followers (French & Raven, 1959). Much like the lesson example, this leader maintains no sense of order or consistency in punishing irresponsible employees. Due to this practice, the responsible employees are starting to lose motivation, because the irresponsible ones get away with everything. In regards to the base of expert power, the veteran employees can often be heard noting that they could probably run the business more effectively, as they have been in the game longer than most of our managers (French & Raven, 1959).
As mentioned in your post, the 18 year old you loved your lenient manager that let you leave early, but as you got older, you realized your best boss was the one who pushed you to succeed. Our previous manager liked to micromanage everyone, and used his power to launch him on an ego trip. Despite his shortcomings, he was consistent in keeping the employees in line, and his rigid demeanor translated to work activities being completed and being completed correctly. While I despised his personality, he was an efficient leader in the business standpoint.
While no leader is perfect, the older I get, the easier it is to realize what is required of a leader. While leaders who are fun and easy going are nice to pal around with, they often fail to respect what you can do as an employee. Work might become one big party, which sounds great, unless it results in less work getting done, and failure to communicate. On the flip side, we might be miserable at work if our leader is harsh and micromanaging, but we will probably get our work done, albeit in a less pleasurable environment.
If there is a happy medium in leadership, it would combine a fun manager who still respects and commands respect from his employees, who will be more willing to do their jobs if they are appreciated. However, as we have studied many theories of leadership thus far, we know that it is not so simple. We all love fun bosses, yet we tend not to respect them as much if we treat them as friends rather than leaders. Simply put, the best boss will respect you while pushing you to be the best employee you are capable of being, as it benefits both you and the leader in the long run.
French, J. & Raven, B. H. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies of Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Samantha Onika Frank-smith says
“Be Water My Friend.” What a simple yet powerful phrase by the legendary Bruce Lee. A leader must be flexible to adapt to the many changing situations and personalities in the workforce. The idea of being in a fluid state allows for rapid adaptation to the ever changing plans of the work day. Water can also be abrasive if it hits the same block over and over, so being aware when that happens also allows for room to adapt.
My best boss was actually a co-worker in a supervisory role, a bank head teller we will call “Carlos”. Carlos’ approach to leadership became the inspiration for my own views on leadership. He used the participative style when we as tellers were lagging in our referrals. He’d have us share our tips on getting the customer engaged to listen to our product suggestions. He used the achievement-oriented style to spark competition among the tellers which got the team motivated to end the day with the most referrals and win a paid lunch. Carlos also focused on our development by cross training the team on tasks that showcased our readiness for job advancement.
Reference
Be Water My Friend – Bruce Lee. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHSbMR_udo