Where Are the Worst and Best Fed Bosses?

I was just reading an article at Federal Times which ranks the federal agencies where you can find the best and worst bosses. I won’t give you the full list, but it looks like NASA, Treasury and 3 branches of the Armed Forces dominate the “best” list while DHS is found most frequently among the “worst.”

So now you’re asking, “Why? What makes people happy or not?” Here are some excerpts:

• attitude and management style
  
• collaboration vs. competition
• equitable distribution of health benefits
• communication and engagement
• courage to make tough decisions
• authenticity and trust
• feedback loops and listening
• self-imposed accountability

This list is probably not surprise in terms of the factors that lead to liking your boss or not, but it’s always a good reminder as a manager to take a look at a list like this and ask some honest, probing questions:

• Where might my team say I’m scoring well?
• Where can I improve?
• Do I have the courage to ask them?

I don’t want to out the bad bosses (too much risk for respondents to share in a public forum), but I would like to give you an opportunity to talk about your positive experiences:

Who was your best boss and why?

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