A man who would be concerned with how he could help me instead of himself, who would give me loyalty instead of demanding of me, who would think of himself as my assistant, instead of my boss, who would think it was his job to help me do my job better.
A man whose pride was peculiar because his pride was in his people. A man who could walk around the organization and say, “Yes, it was well done but not by me. I just happen to be lucky enough to have the best team in the whole organization.” That is where his pride lies. Anything worthwhile that comes out of the department, his team did. If something goes wrong, he feels that maybe he was not on the ball. Maybe he had not directed or guided or taught or led his team properly. He will take the blame for anything that goes wrong.
A man who never made a promise he didn’t intend to keep, merely to slough me off. I would pick a man who might say, “Gee, I’m so busy, Jim, I just don’t know if I’ll ever get done. But let’s not wait until tomorrow when it is more convenient for me. Let’s sit down right now and go at it. Now is the time.”
A man who knew that I was not a genius. If I come to him with an idea, I don’t want him to give me that objective stuff. I don’t want him to say, “You have a suggestion. Here is the form. Fill it out. Stick it in the box and three months later if it is any good we will give you an award for it.”
I want him to get excited about my brain child. I want him to treat my brain child carefully, because it is the most wonderful idea in the world at the moment. I gave birth to this child of mine. I want him to treat it tenderly, especially tenderly if it is a feeble-minded brain child. The man who is going to get an award doesn’t have to worry. It is I. If I don’t get one, I will feel low. I want my boss to pick me up and encourage me.
A man who would handle every grievance right now, not like the fellow who has a 40-room mansion, but no garbage pails, and who says, “We just kick it around until it gets lost.”
A man who in many ways reminded me of my father whom I loved dearly. But who had the knack if I stepped out of line, of lowering the boom so fast I didn’t know what struck me until too late. But who if he thought I had been pushed around, would fight for me every step of the way up the line, even to the president of the company and the chairman of the board if necessary, to see that I got a fair shake and a square break.
—by Dr. J. L. Rosenstein
Modified by Dr. H. James Harrington, CEO, Harrington Institute