Who I Want to Be When I Grow Up

The man I used to work for has an amazing way of motivating his reports (and me, who isn’t anymore). He’s not a hover boss. He isn’t a hands-off boss. He is that exact mix of happy medium one can only dream of having as their superior.

From the very beginning of my reign with him his philosophies stood out to me. I use them to this day to mold, motivate, and grow my staff. And he continues to use them to mold, motivate, and grow me. My Boss or not. :)

Decision Making
He empowers you to make a decision in the best interest of the company, the Patron, and the situation. No two situations are alike. You make the decision in a timely manner to best suit the issue. You back up your decision later with him. Even argue you it, if you like. IF, which is rare, the decision proves to be the poor choice, great job for making it, but here’s how and what we would do the next time.

Customer Service
He believes in favoring the Patron and working to loyalize them. No need to argue and argue. He believes you are wasting more time, energy, and thus money to do so. Ask yourself, is what we’re arguing over worth it? But there is a fine line between that and letting a Patron take advantage time after time.

Recognition
He never leaves a room without telling you it was nice to speak with you, nice to see you, nice to hear your thoughts. And he means it.
He quietly plugs your work any chance he gets with others. He has the ability to do so without shouting it from the rooftops but rather subtly working in your strengths into conversation with others. It’s a knack.

Listening
He listens. He doesn’t just act like he is. He truly listens. You may not get a reaction from him at that point in time, but down the road, when the time is right, those words come back, he reminds you of them and he fills you in on the thoughts he had about them. He also passes those thoughts along. Which leads to…

Where Credit is Due
He pitches your ideas when the time is right. When the idea is used, applauded, liked, he immediately gives you your credit, whether you are present or not. I have had other people return to me after meetings where he did so to tell me what a great idea I had.

His Word
He is a man of his word. When he makes a promise, he keeps it.

Can you tell why I miss working for with him?