Phew, it has been a while since my last post and for that I apologize. I was on vacation a few weeks back and then got caught up catching up. Alas, I am back.
Over the past week, Geoffrey James has run a series of complimentary blog posts for Inc. that explores the relationship between bosses and employees in situations where the boss is successful.
The first post explores traits that make a boss extraordinary. Of the eight mentioned best practices, it is important to see that six of them focus on the relationship between boss and employee. And all six of those suggest that the best bosses empower and trust their employees and work in a great symbiotic relationship.
The follow-up piece looks at traits that make employees the best for their bosses. Unsurprisingly six of these eight tips relate directly to maintaining a positive working relationship with your boss and they all provide building blocks for trust, responsibility, and freedom. Essentially if you are true to your word and good at communicating, you will make your boss happy.
James finishes the second piece with a very intriguing, and I think accurate, thought that I will close with:
Know your real job.
Regardless of what it says on your job description, your real job is to make your boss successful. There are no exceptions to this rule. None.
And, by the way: Your boss’s real job is to make you more successful. The reversal of these priorities is the source of almost all organizational problems.
Leadership Study 