In a Simpsons' Halloween episode parodying the movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” Homer is deployed to drive a stake through the heart of his boss, C. Montgomery Burns, er Dracula. “Kill my boss? Do I dare live out the American dream?” responds Homer. Kidding aside, the relationship between the boss and his or her employees can be fraught with complications, not to mention politics.
In an effort to gauge how our audience members view their relationship with their boss we posed the following statement on our social channels: “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.”
We got plenty of affirmations, but a few folks decided to elaborate on the statement, which may give senior PR managers some food for thought when it comes to strengthening relationships with the rank and file.
Here’s a sampling:
> Cody Nichelson, @CodyNichelson: No — while much of being a good boss is finding talented people & letting them work, a lot of it is helping them grow too
> Brendon Shank, @bshank: Not just getting out of their way. Also giving them resources & energy to rock out.
> Kristina Herrboldt, @KittenKoder: When I was the boss … my boss wouldn't let me do this … it annoyed me having to micromanage because of that.
> Hillary Humphrey, @hilph: yes x1000 my last boss was way overbearing. never offered help just unconstructive criticisms.
> Kylie Forster, @kylie_forster: Yes definitely! As long as all the talented people are able to work together when they need to!
How would you respond to our statement?
Follow Matthew Schwartz on Twitter: @mpsjourno1