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•  “The Bill Lumbergh” Lumbergh is a micromanager with awful motivational skills. He doles out loads of pointless paperwork to his staff, and is one of those bosses who tells you he’s going to need you to work on Saturday – on Friday afternoon.
• “The Michael Scott” The sales guy who was promoted to a manager because of how he excelled? Yep, that’s Michael Scott. As a leader, he cares far more about having a friendly rapport with his staff than managing the business in front of him. He resorts to whatever he has to to be the center of attention, and is the kind of leader who takes credit for the ideas of his team.
• “The Miranda Priestly” Miranda Priestly’s opinion is the only one that matters. Better still, it is always right. Unemotional in her decisions and relationships at work, she is the boss who doesn’t take the impossible as such. No matter the request, or off-hour it’s given, it had better be figured out.
• “The Mr. Burns” Mr. Burns has been in a position of authority for longer than most of his employees have been alive. He doesn’t know names, makes no effort to learn them, and will make any decision that results in more money in his pocket – even at the cost of employee safety.

Personally, I’ve always liked Boss’s Day. Though I’ve had some bad bosses –some of which were so much like the characters above that I often wondered if they inspired them –I’ve been fortunate to work under some truly great bosses.
Bosses who:
–       Saw qualities in me that I never recognized myself
–       Allowed me opportunities to travel and take risks
–       Gave me relative autonomy
–       Encouraged me to share my opinion
–       Understood the importance of company culture – and gave the ability to impact it directly.
What’s my point? You don’t need a stellar boss to be a rockstar in your own right. But having a boss –a mentor –who possesses several (or if you’re lucky enough, most) of the qualities I mentioned above sure does make it easier.
If you’re not one to celebrate today’s Hallmark-esque holiday, that’s cool. At the very least, take it as an opportunity to reflect on what your boss is (or isn’t) – and what you are because of it.

Some bosses are great. Some bosses are just the worst. But as our Director of Customer Experience shares this week, you might not be where you are without them – either way. Have thoughts on this post? Comment below or share with Jennifer directly.