What do people want from their bosses? Work-life charity Working Families took to the streets of London to find out ahead of its annual award for Britain’s Best Boss.
Here’s a film clip with what some employees want from a business leader. Their expectations aren’t surprising — someone worthy of respect, a good listener, a goal-setter who can communicate their vision clearly to others, fairness.
But it’s telling how important it is that the boss recognise that people have lives outside of work.
I’m not sure how many business leaders can be “not just a boss — not a friend — but someone who will spend time after work” and it’d be interesting to find out essential humility in a great boss. Former John Lewis Partnership leader Sir Stuart Hampson epitomised the ideal of the ’servant leader’, but is this more a quality of the man (or woman) than a necessity for the role?
Whether or not it’s a required trait, what it signifies is that employees value humanity in a boss. Modern business leaders aren’t command and control-freaks but accessible and engaging people who not only remember that you have a life outside of the office, they do too.
And turns a good boss into a great one? A top team.
Or a payrise.
