Great bosses understand why they were issued two ears and one mouth. Great bosses tell the truth.even when it hurts. They tell the truth about the company's performance, and about individuals' performance. They realize that people have lives outside of work. While maintaining high standards of performance, they show that they care about their employees as individuals.
Great bosses are there when times are tough.
When Hurricane Andrew wiped out most of South Florida in 1992, Tony Burns, CEO of Ryder System, the transportation and logistics company, was out distributing groceries to his employees, despite the fact that his own house was nearly destroyed in the storm. Great bosses don't expect their people to pay for their mistakes. They don't let anybody abuse or humiliate their employees. They give people the freedom to pursue some things that are important to them. And finally, great bosses know when and how to keep the system off their employees' backs.