Survey Says: The Best Bosses

Nearly half (46%) of our survey respondents were fortunate enough to be working for their favorite boss, while the rest ? well, at least they had one to remember.

As for the WHYs behind being a “best boss”, our readers were big on a sense of humor, intelligence and understanding. Boss dislikes? Micromanagement loomed large, as did incompetance. For example, “My current manager is definitely is NOT my favorite Boss; she does hold the title for my least favorite. I couldn’t imagine a more inept person.”

And then there was the boss who is”? fair and funny. He has a phone growing on the side of his head. Even his small children have play phones to be like Dad.”

This week’s Editor’s Choice is an excerpt from one of many ?” I was here for less than one month when I got a call from daycare one afternoon that my son was throwing up. I approached my boss, told him what was going on and asked if he minded if I left to pick up my kids before they got everyone else sick. He said, “Maybe I haven’t shared my philosophy with you yet – you have three responsibilities: 1. Your family. 2. God and your country. 3. This place. Go take care of your family.”

Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey!

Add yours to the list ? drop us a note at editors@plansponsor.com

From the Readership:

My current boss is my favorite boss. He and I have managed to find a balance where he expects things to get done, and I make things happen, and sometimes the two intersect. He doesn’t micromanage, and I am not high-maintenance. I think the other non-obvious secret to our success is even though we sit about four feet apart (a cubicle wall separates us), we generally communicate via e-mail. This allows more freedom to answer queries when we actually have the answers.

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My current boss is not my favorite boss. She is very good though and runs a close second. My favorite boss was a man I worked for 13 years ago. He was a kind and generous person. He was very family oriented and that came across in all his daily dealings. I admired that. He was very educated and was willing to pass that along to anyone who wanted it. He did not ever force it on you. He was humorous and easy going. I worked for him for roughly 6 years and learned a great deal. He moved on to other things and so did I, but in all my life there has never been any one I admired more as a boss than him.

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Yes. I only see him 2-3 times in a week. He doesn’t seem to care what I do or when it gets done as long as he does not receive any complaints.

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My favorite was the first manager I worked under as a supervisor. She was/is intelligent, involved, fair and open. She taught me a great deal about risk identification and mitigation. In addition watching how she approached problems and issues with a logical, strategic approach helped me to develop the problem solving skills I have needed in all of my work here. She was so good with her reports; every day she walked through the areas she was responsible for to say ‘Good Morning’ to each employee. When she was late or out the employees commented on her absence and missed her. She involved us in all necessary issues but ran interference for us with upper management on trivial issues or concerns. She knew so much about her areas and the industry as a whole that she knew whether her staff members’ performance was good or not. Such knowledge also