Boss lady. She-E-O. Girl Boss. MOMpreneur. You either love or hate the nicknames some female bosses have embraced. To be honest, I do not really have a preference what title would display on a desk nameplate.
I do own my own business so that should qualify me for Boss Lady status. Yet the title does not feel entirely honest because I actually have a boss above me. Plus what nameplate would fit “president, CEO, CFO, accounting clerk, file clerk, secretary, sales & marketing, researcher, idea pitcher…” I think you get what I’m saying.
Since my first take taxes out paying job, I have been mentored by amazing bosses. Good and bad experiences that have imprinted who I want to be as a boss.
I was part of a housekeeping staff at a condominium resort. I learned you take pride and work hard regardless of the task at hand. I learned you can tell a lot about a person on how they treat those who empty the trash. I also cannot leave a hotel room now without stripping the bed and I always vacuum myself out of a room.
I have had bosses that pushed me outside of my comfort zone which also pressed me quickly to decide what is not worth the money. I think I grew most quickly in those situations. To this day, the thought of cold calling sales makes me sick to my stomach.
At one time I had a boss that told me my idea was terrible and never going to work, and then pitched that very idea to their boss. It reaffirmed what I knew to be true – Do Not Steal! Even if what is stolen is an idea. It’s important to give credit where credit is due. That situation I doubted my abilities and felt used. It took me a long time to let it go. And by the way, the idea was accepted and implemented. It did work!
Another boss, whose voice I hear almost weekly in the back of my head, trained me to strive for perfection. “Do you want to be good or do you want to be great?” It’s the reason I spend too much non-billable time on projects perfecting them…and the reason I feel good when they leave my office knowing I did my best.
My skillsets, and my unique ability at approaching situations, is because of the many bosses I have learned from along my path. The good, and the bad, have given me a lifetime of wisdom to pull from. But my innate talents, how I conduct myself and my business, those gifts have been given to me by my real boss.
Before I start my day, I appeal to my boss “please use me today for your greater good.” We have coffee together and I listen for His direction. There are no big decisions I make without consulting Him first. And more often than not, I ask for His guidance and blessings as I go into meetings. I pray steadily for our clients and ask for His blessings to pour into them.
Every time I am creatively jammed up, I step away and praise Him. It never fails a supernatural creative download occurs. And when I encounter someone whose behavior indicates he or she is not yet walking with the Lord, I ask my boss to give me the ability to see their good and to love them as He does. He will shift the energy in the entire room. Trust me, it is hard to feel anger towards someone when you are intentionally trying to love them.
So on this National Boss’s Day, I want to give credit where credit is due, Happy Boss’s Day to my Heavenly Father. Thank you for always guiding me and our company. Thank you for the amazing people you have brought into my life along the journey. Thank you for blessing our clients. I wish to always be your humble servant.
Second in Command Boss Lady,
Kerri
