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EffectiveBosses

I've seen several pages here that describe silly behavior, often by managers. It's remarkable to me that a lot of the time this stuff doesn't happen:

• ItsJustOneSmallChange - Well, sometimes even bosses know better.
• WhatOrganizationsWork - Because sometimes they do.
• TypesofCodeReview - Useful ones sometimes happen.
• TriangulatingConversation - Some bosses actually say what they think, to the person they want to talk to.
• PollYouAreIncompetent - A few bosses could say, "Sometimes I'm competent enough."

It's fun to snipe at Those People, Who Do Silly Things, especially when they are boss people. It might be fun also to talk about EffectiveBosses - the people who do this kind of thing well.

Anybody know any EffectiveBosses? Anybody have stories about effective habits, or even moments of accidental effectiveness by bosses, managers, executives, and other potential leaders at work? (I have a list of EffectiveBossesWhoWrite as well.)

-- JimBullock, 2006.10.02 (In principle, I could do a way better job than Those People. What's that, you want me to step up? Um.......)

The winner of the most effective manager in my career is Anne Cawley.

What made her effective?

Congruence - She conversed with people in her group as equals rather than subordinates.

Hiring - She knew the power of hiring teammates who were similar enough that they could work together and different enough to generate powerful discussion, learning and commitment.

Consensus - She worked for consensus of the members and considered her vote just as important as everyone else's.

Work Ethic - She was always willing to do her share of the work and more. She led by example.

Marketing - She assumed the larger organization would not fully see the value of her organization. She constantly demonstrated to the larger organization the value of her team.

Meeting Leadership - She led meetings methodically. I never left her meetings feeling my time had been wasted. She makes most of my other managers look like amateurs in this area. Despite that the members of the group were spread across the globe, we had face-to-face meetings, which bonded the group.

Process - Our group had a process and part of the process was to improve it through innovation. Our process helped us produce high-quality product on schedule.

Practice - She believed in practice. The group created and delivered lots of presentations. The practice enabled us to deliver with authority.

Fun - She knew that having fun together would pay dividends. At least once a year, we had events with our spouses at fun places.

I was proud to be a member of her team. She got the right results by doing the right things, the right way.

She was an examplary manager and human being. Her example made me believe in the power of an effective manager to amplify her group's effectiveness.

SteveSmith 2006.10.03

Wow. Is she hiring? That reminds me of a strategy I've used: BeLikeMike. -- JimBullock 2006.10.03 (I wonder. Is making things work like that all on the boss, or maybe we have some contribution HelpingBossesBeSane.)