Good Boss Bad Boss

Daniel Goleman , Harvard PhD, writes in his book Social Intelligence:

“Any collection of working people can readily recall two kinds of bosses they’ve known, one they loved to work for, and one they couldn’t wait to escape.  I’ve asked for such a list from dozens of groups, ranging from meetings with CEOs to conventions of school teachers, in cities as different as Sao Paulo, Brussels, and St. Louis.  The lists that disparate groups generate, no matter where they are, are remarkably similar to this one:

Good Boss	Bad Boss
Great listener	Blank wall
Encourager	Doubter
Communicator	Secretive
Courageous	Intimidating
Sense of humor	Bad temper
Shows empathy	Self-centered
Decisive	Indecisive
Takes responsibility	Blames
Humble	Arrogant
Shares authority	Mistrusts

The best bosses are people who are trustworthy, empathic and connected, who make us feel calm, appreciated, and inspired. The worst–distant, difficult, and arrogant–make us feel uneasy at best and resentful at worst.”

“…In a survey of employees at seven hundred companies, the majority said that a caring boss was more important to them than how much they earned.”

“The only thing worse than a coach or CEO who doesn’t care about his people is one who pretends to care.  People can spot a phony every time.  They know he doesn’t care about them, and worse, his act insults their intelligence.” Jimmy Johnson, Coached Dallas and Miami