8 Signs of an Extraordinary Boss

Read this in Yahoo quite some time ago, been wanting to share this but kept on delaying it. This was written by Geoffrey James (Apr 23, 2012 article)...

1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.

They see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive, creating teams that adapts easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers and even competitors.

2. A company is a community, not a machine.

They see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire staffs to dedicate themselves to the success of peers and therefore to the community - and company - at large.

3. Management is a service, not control.

They set general direction and commit to obtain the resources for staffs to execute. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

4. My employees are my peers, not my children.

They treat every staff as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. The result? Employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.

They inspire people to see a better future and how they'll be part of it. As a result, staffs work harder because they believe in the organisation's goals, truly enjoy what they're doing and know they'll share in the rewards.

6. Change equals growth, not pain.

They see changes as inevitable. While they don't value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if staffs and organisation embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.

7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.

They see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smart phones and tablets, that people actually want to use.

8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.

They see work a something that should be inherently enjoyable - and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.