In the corporate world, there is still a tendency to promote exceptional
producers into people management positions. And by producers, I include
not only those responsible for driving revenue i.e. sales, trading. You could be an exceptional software engineer, operations, business risk, finance expert and so on.

Being an exceptional producer does not automatically make you an exceptional
people leader. The good news is that these skills can be learned.

Some companies invest in their people by training them in People Leadership before they are promoted. However, in my experience, these companies are few and far between.

My top 5….

1. Empower me to make decisions (where relevant) and more importantly, if the decision does not yield the best result, provide support, NOT blame.
2. Call out bad behaviour without throwing me ‘under the bus’. One particular boss took the time to ask whether I had any stresses on the personal front before he addressed the issue at hand.
3. Offer to roll-up their sleeves. You’ve had those days. Not enough time. Tight deadlines. A boss who jumps into the trenches with you, is a keeper.
4. Encourage stepping outside of comfort zone. Challenge with stretch assignments, additional responsibilities. If I’m not learning, I’m not growing.
5. Show compassion. Similar to #2, sometimes issues in our personal lives impact our behaviour at work. Be kind. We are humans, not robots!

What other fabulous ‘boss qualities’ would you add to this list?