What Did You Learn From Your First Boss?

What did you learn from your first boss?

Did you learn lessons and examples that still inform your leadership style today? Or did you learn “what not to do”?

We can’t help but learn from every boss we have. Often times these lessons and examples last a lifetime. If your boss is successful, you’d be wise to figure out what makes her successful and do your best to prioritize accordingly.

My first boss was a great example for me in most ways. He was an entrepreneur who never took his eye off the bottom line. While he was a great businessman, I wouldn’t say he was inspiring. He was hands-off and tended to minimize, even trivialize, the challenges others faced.

While his door was always open, his mind was not.

Those who reported to him didn’t find him hard to work for per se, but we often talked about his unwillingness to roll up his sleeves. Interestingly, he assumed the role of “good cop” to his boss’ “bad cop”. I never thought this strategy was wise, but he used it all the time to his advantage. He’d have to “talk to John”, which gave him a convenient way of coming back with an answer that served his needs and essentially closed the subject.

Had he owned all of his decisions, I think people would have respected him even more. He would complain when people went around him to talk to John on their own. What they were really doing is skipping a step that they pretty much knew they’d face if they started with their boss. That was a shame because it didn’t have to be that way.

Getting one’s hands dirty often means digging into the details enough to be able to make a fully informed decision and settling the issue without the need for further review by superiors. When there’s always a parental figure who has the final say, even adults learn to work the system and diminish their boss’ effectiveness in the process. Owning the decision means owning the outcome, and leaders at every level would be wise to make that their priority.