A Good Boss
Manuel passed away last week, and I find myself reflecting on what made him a good boss. Undoubtedly, Manuel made a lasting impression with everyone he met. When I first met him, he was already one of the senior partners at the firm, and a reputation for his sharp mind and wit preceded him. He enjoyed unsettling others and was known to pull antics like “accidentally” falling off a chair in the middle of an interview to see the applicant’s reaction. From a distance, he seemed like the embodiment of a modern-day version of jolly St. Nick. There are obvious differences: instead of the prominent white long hair and beard, Manuel had big curly locks. A native of Ecuador, Manuel was clearly not from the North Pole, and, saintly, Manuel was not.
He eventually became my boss. Here’s the context: I am running the firm’s financial operations, and I am reporting to a man whose genius for numbers is not only intimidating – it is downright scary. I remember meeting him for the first time, thinking I was fully prepared and ready for any question he can possibly imagine, and within a nano-second, he points to a number and asks a question at least five levels deep about the number’s correlation to some trend that he has figured out in his head. Scary.
Over the course of our working together, I got to know the man, Manuel, better. He loved to drive his Porsche with the top down, and one cold fall day, I rode with him to a meeting, and as he pressed the button to take the top down, I commented that it may be a bit too cold. His eyes twinkled while saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll blast the heat"! He loved good food and good wine. He loved smoking cigars and kept his special cigars with a humidor. He loved the opera, donning a cape to the theater. He loved the beach and had a summer house in Fire Island. He loved life and knew how to live.
I don’t know if he knew that he initially scared me, but over time, he made me feel like I was doing my job, and doing it well. He never singled out my mistakes or any lack of knowledge on my part. Instead he made it a point to affirm good work and did this in a surprisingly kind and authentic way that it was hard for me not to believe that he truly believed in me. When I got promoted to Principal of the firm, he did not just call me into his office to tell me. He invited me and my spouse to dinner, and when we arrived, he and his wife were waiting with a special bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion.
I learned to not be scared of Manuel anymore and over time, we enjoyed bantering over this and that, discovering each other’s wit and sense of humor. I learned a lot from him as my boss, and I learned to enjoy his friendship, good nature and zest for life.
It’s been almost 20 years since I worked with Manuel and I moved on to take on bigger and more challenging leadership roles and responsibilities. I also now teach leadership at a top business school, and have established my own leadership coaching practice. I’ve taken with me and applied the leadership lessons I learned from Manuel: believing in those who work for me, even if they may not yet believe in themselves. Trusting in one’s potential and nurturing it to grow. Celebrating one’s achievements in a special way that will be cherished for a long time.
My kids are 28 and 25 now, and are thankfully employed. I wish for them the opportunity to work for a boss like Manuel. Someone they will respect, learn from, and in turn, someone who will see them for what they are, trusting in what they can become; someone who will nurture their aspirations, honor their accomplishments and enable them to grow.
