My first “great boss” was my dad. I worked for him every summer while I was in college. He was as tough on me as he was on anyone else. When I wanted to work inside the nice cool office, he instead put me outside in the warehouse which was like a poor man’s sauna during those hot summer months in South Florida. That work experience was both humbling and a great learning environment.
I watched my dad in action as the “boss”. I found it almost magical how he was able to get his employees to do what he needed to get done without much push back at all. They loved and respected him as their boss no matter how hard he pushed them. I found myself wondering at times how he did that. What type of magic was he using?
Authors Gino Wickman and Rene Boer newest book, “How To Be A Great Boss”, does a great job of describing that “magic” my father so aptly demonstrated to me. Wickman is also the author of one of my favorite entrepreneurial how-to books, “Traction”. Visit Amazon to order online.
Several key takeaways from the book:
- Being a great boss starts with creating and maintaining a work environment where employees can excel.
- People are our number one competitive advantage.
- According to Gallup, only 31% of employees report feeling “engaged” in their work. 17% report feeling “actively disengaged”. 51% are “not engaged”. This is a huge opportunity for some small businesses.
- Are your employees in the right position? They must “get it”, “want it”, and have the capacity to “do it”.
- The difference between Leadership and Management? Leadership is about creating a Vision. Management consists of gaining Traction to achieve that vision. You cannot succeed without both.
There are many more very helpful learnings in this book for bosses of any kind. I highly recommend “How to Be a Great Boss”.