I have worked for good bosses and I have worked for bad bosses and I have worked for bosses that were supposed to be good bosses and turned out to be bad bosses. What makes a good boss good?  Beyond the basics...thou shalt not: scream grope fart and berate, there are other less obvious characteristics that make up a good boss.

A good boss has 3 main characteristics; egalitarianism, compassion and communication. Egalitarianism, I had to look up the word to make sure I had the right one. Egalitarianism means the equality of all people and it is exactly the word that I wanted. Egalitarianism is sorely lacking in Manhattan work places. Maybe it's me, maybe it's because I am not from Manhattan, but one thing that I have noticed that is quite pronounced here is that people who have power, people who have money and people who have position, for some reason think that they are worth more than people who don't. How this plays out in the work place is a lack of respect by bosses for their employees, simply because they are their employees. It boggles the mind or at least it boggles my mind. Therefore a boss who practices egalitarianism, who treats all people fairly and with respect is a good boss in my book.

The second most important trait is compassion. A good boss realizes that the world does not revolve around the job, yes the job is important, yes an employee should work hard and be responsible and reliable, however, there are events and circumstances that require a pause in the workplace. There are times when the job is not as important as certain life events. And at those times, the job needs to take a second place to whatever it is that is going on in the employees life. When there is a death, when their is an illness and when planes hit towers killing almost 3,000 people work does not continue on schedule. Compassion requires acknowledging these events and a good boss will do just that.

Last but certainly not least is communication. A boss that does not communicate well is not a good boss. Lack of communication can be interpreted as lack of respect, a subtle message from one person to another that what they are saying is not important enough to understand. Lack of communication also makes working together virtually impossible and if it becomes chronic one starts to wonder if there are ulterior motives being played out. A good boss will be clear and concise, will not back peddle or say he or she asked something of you when they didn't so that they can cover their asses, nor will they say one thing and then do another. A lack of communication says more about whom the person is and what they are about in negative ways than any other attribute.

The best bosses I've ever had held all these attributes, they eventually became friends as well as co-workers and I can't help but think that they as well as I benefited mutually from the healthy atmosphere they fostered.