Finding a great boss.

Throughout my entire career, I've had some fantastic bosses … and I've had some *not* so fantastic bosses.

My best bosses have challenged me to improve, provided ample autonomy to learn things while providing outstanding support and direction when needed, and been a great sounding board to teach me how to think about things to arrive at my own decisions.

My not-so-great bosses have mostly done the opposite, leading to disengagement, not feeling valued, and even questioning my abilities.

I would choose a great boss to work for every single day (duh). But the problem is, how do you make sure you choose the right one?!

Here are the things I have learned when reflecting on my experiences with my great (and not so great) bosses:

Ask others about Your Potential New Boss (PNB). Ask these three groups these types of questions:

1. Peers: what kind of collaboration or interaction do they have with PNB

2. Boss's boss: greatest strengths of PNB

3. Employees: how do they communicate with PNB - frequency, type, formality, etc

Compare the answers from each group of people to how you like to engage. Think about the characteristics you want in a boss, and listen for those themes to emerge. If they don't, red flag.

Here's an example in action:

1. If I heard my PNB's peers suggest they interact in staff meetings, I would be less than impressed by how connected the function is to other functions. I want to hear something like this: we are engaged in multiple initiatives, have quarterly standing workshops, and frequently meet based on our current work.

2. If I heard my boss's boss talk only about my PNB's technical or functional skills, I would be less than impressed. I want to hear about leadership, development of people, ability to get significant initiatives complete ... plus a component of hearing that the PNB is well respected in the org.

3. I want to see if there are many "emergencies" and how boundaries are respected. A few communication style differences are understandable, but if you get the impression that your PNB is a micro-manager - RUN.