Home » ExchangeEveryDay » Rate the Boss



ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues


<< Previous Issue | View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> ExchangeEveryDay
Rate the Boss
March 4, 2011
The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.
-Frida Kahlo, 1907-1954, artist

Robert Townsend provided a scorecard for rating the boss in Further Up the Organization (New York: Knopf, 1984). I suggest that if you are the boss, that you rate yourself on these ten items on a score of 0 to 10, and then have your employees do likewise (anonymously). This will not only point out areas where you need to improve, but will also reveal areas where employees' perception of your performance varies dramatically from your own.

My leader is...

  1. Available. If I have a problem I can't solve, he is there. But he is forceful in making me do my level best to bring in solutions, not problems.
  2. Inclusive. Quick to let me in on information of people who might be useful to me or stimulating or of long-term professional interest.
  3. Humorous. Has a full measure of the comic spirit. Laughs even harder when the joke's on him.
  4. Fair. Gives credit where credit is due, but holds me to my promise.
  5. Decisive. Determined to get at those little unimportant decisions that can tie up organizations for days.
  6. Humble. Admits his own mistakes openly — learns from them and expects his people to do the same.
  7. Objective. Knows the apparently important from the truly important and goes where she is needed.
  8. Tough. Won't let outsiders waste his time of his people's time.
  9. Effective. Teaches me to bring her mistakes with what I have learned and done about them. Teaches me not to interrupt her with possible good news on which no action is needed.
  10. Patient. Knows when to bite the bullet until I solve my own problems.






Any deficiency in any one area of an organization can throw everything out of balance, undermining the ability of the entire organization to perform. How healthy is your early childhood organization?

This Exchange CD Book offers an awesome collection of 64 articles in PDF format offering a host of practical tools and strategies for:
  • Organizational Evaluation
  • Director Evaluation
  • Staff Appraisal
  • Program Evaluation
  • Environmental Evaluation
  • Child Assessment
  • Child Observation
Trainers and Faculty...
...this is the perfect resource for supplementing a text or creating your own curriculum.

Directors and Administrators...
...this is your guidebook for evaluating your program, your teachers, the children you serve, and yourself.

ExchangeEveryDay

Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

What is ExchangeEveryDay?

ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.


Julie Bartkus, Speaker, Author & Staff Motivation Expert shares with you 5 strategies that will motivate your staff.

Limited Offer - grab your FREE staff motivation audio program today.



Comments (4)

Displaying All 4 Comments
Rebecca Cors · March 05, 2011
education and program evaluation
Triesen, Liechtenstein


It's not easy being a boss and I think this is a pretty comprehensive list of what good bosses do. What's missing is RESPECT. Does the boss respect his employees' ideas, time, and so on. This is much more than fairness. This is treating people like humans, who have lives outside of work, who have different ways of learning and working, and who are sometimes burning to contribute at work.

Kathy Schaeffer · March 04, 2011
Kathy\'s Child Care
Marshalltown, IA, United States


I would like more information on this topic, but I don 't feel it is that important to purchase books are articles. I enjoy the information I get but sometimes I would like to see more in depth information with having to buy a book or hunt for an article.
I would also like to see articles on how to improve in these same areas so I would not have to do a survey all the times.
I do enjoy most of the information you send. Thank you

Harold · March 04, 2011
McDonald\'s
Priest River, Idaho, United States


Hello, Exchange
Yes, I'm aware of these Qualities that you posted to my e-mail.
PESSIMISM: If it wasn't for the optimist, the pessimist would never know how happy he wasn't. Thank you
Sincerely, Harold Holmes

Rebecca Weiss · March 04, 2011
Bright Horizons
Washington, DC, United States


I found the rating statements valuable, but the continual use of the male pronoun was so distracting and maddening that I had to cool down before I could re-read it for content. I would have assumed that you would have edited it to at least alternate male and female pronouns.



Post a Comment

Have an account? to submit your comment.


required

Your e-mail address will not be visible to other website visitors.
required
required
required

Check the box below, to help verify that you are not a bot. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this form.



Disclaimer: Exchange reserves the right to remove any comments at its discretion or reprint posted comments in other Exchange materials.