Greatest Boss in the World

I'm going to start this with a preface. I don't owe Christie anything and am not kissing up to her. I don't kiss ass very well. I believe in honesty and integrity and am my own person. I am not her clone.

When I first found out I was going to Christie's team as the performance coach I was a little concerned. We had been friends for 3 years and suddenly she was going to be my boss. I was also just coming back from my LOA and was concerned about my job. I'm pretty sure she was wondering what to expect based on my file and likewise I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with her as a boss. I didn't want to lose a friend in the process.

Fortunately, it's been a great experience. First of all Christie doesn't micromanage. She gives me my space so that I can just do my job. She doesn't need to monitor me. If I am going to fail I am going to do it on my own. I appreciate that. I am not the kind of person that wants someone to be keeping tabs on them. And my stats speak for themselves. If I have missed a mandate it was because of uncontrollable circumstances.

My other concern had been whether or not she could stand up to me and say what needed to be said. I'm not perfect. I am going to make mistakes or do something without thinking. I have seen both sides of Christie. There is the outside of work side and then the inside of work side. She says what needs to be said and when you get pulled into a room it's not going to be fun and games. But I respect that ability to separate her personal life from work. It's tough when you are friends with the people under you. But I would not be able to respect her if she did play favourites or not deal with something because of a friendship.

I know where I stand. It's not a question of mixed messages. Not only that but Christie also gives a lot more in the way of respect and appreciation then other managers I have had. Respect is huge. It is what keeps employees. She gives me a hard time about developing an ego but it's nice to be appreciated.

Lastly, Christie makes it fun. Not to say it's always fun and games. We are no longer allowed to play with the Nerf guns but that wasn't because she wanted to be mean. That was because the stats are not up to snuff. She gets out there with the agents... jokes around with us. She's also good at taking a joke since we give her a hard time a LOT. Christie always brightens my day.

When you work for someone you respect you want to try harder... not just meet expectations but exceed them. I find I work harder and do more now then I did before. Now some of that stems from changes in the role. But it's also because I want to prove to her what I am capable of. I just completed a huge make-work project and it wasn't because I had to but was because I wanted to. Took a lot of time and energy but in the end I believe that it will save time and help me identify more trends. Now if only Christie could read Excel spreadsheets.

For all of these reasons I nominate Christie for the greatest boss. Now if she would just make use of the van and drive me to soccer practice... *lol*