I’ll work on my strengths. You help me with my weaknesses.

This boss was truly inspiring. Truly frustrating. Once we understood each other though, we were a great team. He identified and generated lots of opportunities, leaving chaos in his wake. My team sifted through the opportunities, finding the gems. I turned the chaos into order and made sure the gems turned into actions.

My boss was the most self-aware person I’ve ever met. He knew what he was good at, and he knew what he sucked at. He taught me the value of this self awareness and, more importantly not trying to change who you are. Rather than working to improve his weaknesses he strove to play to his strengths and make sure he wasn’t overplaying them. He hired a team to make sure there were people around him who were strong where he wasn’t, and he empowered us to use those strengths.

Good ingredients for a great team.

The rest of my 10 Boss Lessons can be found here.