Patricia Bays Haroski registered “National Boss’ Day” with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working as a secretary for her father at State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois at the time and chose October 16 to symbolize this recognition initiative in light of that being her father’s birthday. Her purpose behind wanting to dedicate a special day in the workplace was not only to show a level of appreciation that she felt her bosses deserved, but was also intended to be a strategy for improving intra-office relationships between managers and their employees. Haroski believed that junior employees may not understand the hard work and dedication that supervisors put into efforts going on behind the scenes (and the challenges they face in doing so). Four years later, in 1962, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner backed Haroski’s registration and officially proclaimed October 16th National ‘Boss’ Day.
Great leaders are made, not born. I am immensely grateful for the bosses I’ve had who put me in situations which allowed me to gain confidence from achieving success; that said, I have an equal — albeit different — appreciation for the bosses I’ve had that let me stumble (and perhaps fall flat on my face) because, in all actuality, learning how to get back up and keep going after a challenging situation is a “success” lesson in-and-of itself.
Dennis A. Peer highlighted an excellent way of categorizing good bosses from bad ones in saying that a true measure of leadership is indicated by the caliber of people who choose to follow them. By that measure, I must be doing something right.
After a 12+ day at the office today, I was completely smitten to receive a text this evening from one of my employees containing this:
My team doesn’t work for me… it’s actually MY job to work for them — to give them the resources and tools they need to execute their duties, to facilitate opportunities for them [much like those that have been afforded to me], and (most importantly) to never let them forget how much I support and value what they contribute towards our collective goals and mission.
Whether you are a boss at work, a boss at home, or maybe both — I encourage you to applaud yourself this evening. If for nothing else, consider doing it because you deserve credit for ‘managing’ how you chose to embrace the gift of life you were lucky enough to be *scheduled* for today.
Cheers
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Thaddeus 