The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog

Five things I learned from my favorite boss

Posted by Robyn McLeod on July 30, 2010

Over many years of work in the corporate arena, most of us can recount in detail the pain and suffering of working for a terrible boss – outbursts, taking credit for others’ work, micromanaging, playing favorites… the list goes on.  But what about your favorite boss?  How was it to work for someone who made it pleasant to wake up in the morning and head to work?  My favorite boss was one of the first people I worked for not long after college, and here’s five things I learned from him about being a great boss:
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2 Responses to “Five things I learned from my favorite boss”

  1. Dwight McLeod says:

    When I worked for Carmen Stellato, we did more in 2 years to move the organization ahead, than has ever been accomplished since. Your 5 points embodied this experience. We were a bunch of misfits that he brought together and nurtured into a strong team. We would move heaven or earth for him, and going to work was never a question, nor was staying late into the we hours to get something that had a short deadline accomplished. I loved working with that team. Thanks for reminding me of that great experience.

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We Bring Who We Are To Work

Posted by Ben Dattner on July 28, 2010

Henry Ford reportedly once complained that all he wanted from a worker was a pair of hands, but that he had to deal with the whole person instead. Each of us brings our whole self to work each day, whether or not we realize it.
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BEEP! Your turn to talk

Posted by Lisa Kohn on July 23, 2010

My brother and I almost broke up over email.  Well, instant messenger and then email.

We IM all the time.  We joke.  We play.  We tease.  It’s what we do.  Only I joked with him one day, while we were discussing a tough family issue, and he misconstrued it and it went outrageously, quickly downhill from there.  The IMs got tenser.  The emails got curter…and meaner.
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WAIT! Why Am I Talking?

Posted by Robyn McLeod on July 16, 2010

I learned a new acronym today – WAIT.  It stands for “Why Am I Talking?”  I have it up on the bulletin board in my office to remind me to talk less and listen more during my coaching and other important conversations.  I am naturally more of a thinker than a talker, but there are times when I get so excited, passionate or incensed about something that I talk way more than I listen.  I may even talk over or interrupt the other person as I look to get my point across or share my Very Important Bit of Knowledge.
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2 Responses to “WAIT! Why Am I Talking?”

  1. Randi Raskin Nash says:

    Hi Robyn,

    This is one of my favorite acronyms, great to see it reinforced! I reference it in my coaching, and think about it with personal interactions too. Thanks for raising up!

    Best,
    Randi Raskin Nash

    • Robyn McLeod says:

      Randi,
      You’re welcome! It’s one of my favorites too. It certainly serves as a great reminder that you have two ears and one mouth for a reason – and it’s amazing what happens when we use them accordingly.

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The Impact of Listening (or Not)

Posted by Cathy Alfandre on July 14, 2010

You made an appointment with your boss yesterday, and the meeting’s coming up in a few minutes.  There’s a major problem with the project you’ve been working on for 3 months, and you need her guidance and feedback.  After multiple weeks of everything going according to plan, you’ve discovered a critical quality flaw with one of the key components of the product.  You already approached the supplier, but their quality tests haven’t turned up any issues.  They believe that the problem lies in the interface with your system.  Laura needs to hear about this.
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Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Posted by Lisa Kohn on July 9, 2010

“We need to drink the Kool-Aid.”  I heard a client say this again last week and I finally have to speak out.  This is one business saying of the moment that truly, truly annoys me.  Makes my skin crawl in fact.  Each time I hear it I want to scream to whomever has uttered the words, “Do you know what that really means????”
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