Winning Words

Who’s the boss? You’re the boss

Column by Michael Norton
Posted 8/14/19

Whether you are a business owner, an executive, a manager, or a supervisor with a team of people reporting to you, or you are someone who reports into another person, guess what? You are all still …

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Winning Words

Who’s the boss? You’re the boss

Posted

Whether you are a business owner, an executive, a manager, or a supervisor with a team of people reporting to you, or you are someone who reports into another person, guess what? You are all still the boss.

That’s right, you are all still the boss. What do I mean by that? I mean that regardless of our role or title, it is ultimately our responsibility to perform at the highest level possible for ourselves and our teams. And we do not strive for that just because we have to, we strive for that because we want to. If all we ever do is take orders from those in charge of us or above us in our department or by title, all we will ever do is live up to is their expectations and never our own. And we will probably find ourselves always reporting to someone else.

Just think about this for a moment. Who does the CEO report to? Well if there is a board of directors, the CEO usually reports into the board. If the CEO only took the direction of the board and wasn’t innovative, driven, and inspiring, they probably wouldn’t be the CEO for much longer. And what about the chairman of the board, who do they report to? They report to the shareholders, don’t they? Well if they didn’t hold themselves to a higher standard and constantly think of ways to improve productivity, revenues, and returns, they probably would be replaced.

Chairmen, CEOs, owners, managers, and all level of personnel within an organization should always be thinking beyond what others expect of them when it comes to performance. As a matter of fact, all of us, personally and professionally would do well to think about how we can do better and achieve more than we have ever done or have accomplished before. We should always be thinking about how we could raise the bar for ourselves and not wait for a performance review or feedback from others.

Pride of ownership isn’t just relevant for the ownership of a company; pride of ownership comes with owning and being held accountable to ourselves for the job that we are doing regardless of who we are working with or for, or what the job involves. Personal pride doesn’t mean we work more hours than we should, although it could if it means completing something that meets our own standards. Personal pride means that we don’t expect others to do our job. It means we hold ourselves accountable for completing the task or job at hand and getting it right. Personal pride means that once we are capable, we do not have to be told what to do, we know what is required and get it done.

You know the saying, “You’re not the boss of me.” We usually hear that in a facetious or sarcastic tone, or when someone is angry with another person for trying to boss them around. But guess what, unless we take ownership for our actions and become our own boss in all that we do, someone else will really be the boss of us as we lose control of our own future.

Who’s the boss? You’re the boss. That’s right, you’re the boss. Now I wouldn’t go into work tomorrow and tell your manager that, or go home tonight and tell your spouse that, but I would recommend letting others see that you are driven, you are inspired, and you are attempting to do everything possible to create a brighter future.

So how about you? Whether you are an owner, an executive, a manager, or if you report up to someone else, do you feel like you own your job and your success? If not, let me know. If you do, I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we realize we are the boss and in control of a better tomorrow, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a resident of Highlands Ranch, the chief revenue officer at Eventus Solutions Group, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.

Michael Norton

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