I am often reminded of the opening lines of The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, . . . it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." I was reminded of these lines this morning when I read the Forbes article, "9 Things a Boss Should Never Say to an Employee." This excellent article reminded me of the good fortunes I have had to work for some exceptional bosses and the miserable times I spend working for some bad ones.
Once there was a senior administration official where I worked. The work area for my group had an inefficient HVAC system that simply could not cool the area off during the summer or warm it up during the cold of winter. This particular administrator had heard our complaints and pleas for help to the point where she didn't want to hear any more. At a meeting one day she announced that she didn't want to hear any more complaints about the temperature in our work area. She went on to say that we should be glad to have a job.
You could feel the impact of her words almost immediately. Inspiration turned to desperation. Energy turned into dread. Passion turned into misery. We went from the spring of hope to the winter of despair like flipping a light switch. In a little over 15 seconds this one administrator sent the morale of my work group from about a 9 to about a 0.5 on a 1 to 10 scale. And the sad thing is that even though she was had a doctorate level education and was the #2 administrator at this institution she didn't have a clue regarding the impact of her remarks. I found my self wondering if I was more uninspired by her remarks or more distressed by her lack of understanding of their impact upon her audience. It was truly the worst of times.
Then I often think of those bosses who had the opposite perception of their employees. The listened, they cared, they dreamed with you, they inspired you, they celebrated with you, they cried with you, they told you the truth, you trusted them, and you would do anything for them. Those are the bosses that I like to remember the most. They truly represented the best of times.
So, what kind of boss are you? How will you be remembered by your employees? Do you listen to them? Are you transparent with them? Will they recall being in a spring of hope or a winter of despair? Will they do anything for you? If you aren't pleased with the kind of boss you have been, it is never to late to take stock of a bad situation and change. You CAN do it.
Once there was a senior administration official where I worked. The work area for my group had an inefficient HVAC system that simply could not cool the area off during the summer or warm it up during the cold of winter. This particular administrator had heard our complaints and pleas for help to the point where she didn't want to hear any more. At a meeting one day she announced that she didn't want to hear any more complaints about the temperature in our work area. She went on to say that we should be glad to have a job.
You could feel the impact of her words almost immediately. Inspiration turned to desperation. Energy turned into dread. Passion turned into misery. We went from the spring of hope to the winter of despair like flipping a light switch. In a little over 15 seconds this one administrator sent the morale of my work group from about a 9 to about a 0.5 on a 1 to 10 scale. And the sad thing is that even though she was had a doctorate level education and was the #2 administrator at this institution she didn't have a clue regarding the impact of her remarks. I found my self wondering if I was more uninspired by her remarks or more distressed by her lack of understanding of their impact upon her audience. It was truly the worst of times.
Then I often think of those bosses who had the opposite perception of their employees. The listened, they cared, they dreamed with you, they inspired you, they celebrated with you, they cried with you, they told you the truth, you trusted them, and you would do anything for them. Those are the bosses that I like to remember the most. They truly represented the best of times.
So, what kind of boss are you? How will you be remembered by your employees? Do you listen to them? Are you transparent with them? Will they recall being in a spring of hope or a winter of despair? Will they do anything for you? If you aren't pleased with the kind of boss you have been, it is never to late to take stock of a bad situation and change. You CAN do it.