We often hear about bad bosses, but we think it’s important to talk about the good ones because we hope that by giving folks examples of how to be a good boss we can inspire future bosses to be better, to do better for their employees and all stakeholders.

Erik Radle | CEO At The Miller Ad Agency

As a relatively young man in my late twenties, I was recruited by Mazda North America to join their sales and marketing team. My boss at the time was a gift in so many ways, none more so than his ability to customize his leadership style to match the personalities and penchants for those under his command. He knew I’d work best autonomously, that if given space and flexibility that I’d excel and he allowed that to happen. I want to say that I went without seeing or talking to Jeff for 2 months one time, and I only reached out to him to make sure he wasn’t dead. Jeff coached me up later in my tenure with him as well, when I had been promoted and as a result took a large team (fourteen) under my wing for the first time. Read more>>

Sophie Allen-Etchart | Read Better Be Better CEO & Founder

I started working in casual jobs when I was 14 years old, but my first job in a professional office setting came after I graduated from university. I worked in a financial and talent management consultancy, AMG, helping C-suite executives manage their careers and their leadership teams. My boss at AMG was a driver of excellence. I am so grateful to have learned from him the amount of work and iterations that it takes to ensure a high-quality outcome. There were many tears shed over red-lined drafts, but each time I got tougher, tried harder, and performed better. Read more>>

Amanda Brummitt | Patient Experience and Healthcare Strategy Expert

When I would bring an issue to him, he would never tell me how to fix it even when I asked him what to do. He would ask what I thought the options were and force me to think through them on my own. He may give a little push her and there, but wouldn’t tell me what he thought the right solution was. He would always tell me to go with what I thought and circle back with him to tell him if it was the right decision. If it was right, great. If it was wrong, that was fine to as long as I could explain what I had learned and how I would do it differently if I had it to do over again. Read more>>

Prince AJ | Investor

Growing up I had a few jobs worked at McDonalds, Marble Slab, few restaurants but my father owned his own sign company so I always was around and worked for him. He taught me so much about business, making money, how to deal with clients, how to stay creative and more. I always came late left early go do things while on the clock, I was young and my father was the boss so I didn’t care much. I learned so much. My Father was definitely the best boss I ever had. Read more>>

Cathryn Beeks | Singer/songwriter, photographer, artist, show host

From the time I graduated High School in 1986 until I took the leap into the creative entrepreneurial world around 2008, I worked full time in various roles in the real estate industry. Looking back, that must have been a prime time for women to take leadership roles in that field, as most of my bosses were women. I had a hard time selecting just one to talk about, so I’ll list a few. The first real job I ever had was as a secretary at Venture Realty in Lancaster, CA. Linda was my boss, her and her husband Don owned the company. They were super kind, fair and fun. Read more>>

Natalie Chiles | Portrait Photographer

Before I started my photography business I was a booking agent. It was a great job for me as a new mom. I had young kids at home, had left teaching, and wanted some connection to adults. Steve Denyes, better known in San Diego as Hullabaloo, a children’s musician, hired me to help manage bookings. Everything from birthday parties to concerts and festivals, Steve coached me through how to communicate with clients so that they felt cared for and informed about how everything worked. We sailed through many months of error-free days, but it was bound to happen. I messed up. Read more>>

Will Chitwood | DJ

I was fortunate to start off with a good friend of mine who invited me to come out to DJ with him when I was just 16. He was a great teacher and really helped me develop as DJ in my MC and crowd interaction techniques. Read more>>

Chris Cott | Artist

When I applied for my first job in the art field, my future boss Lee Puckett asked me what I would do with the money if I was hired. As it was almost 5 times what I was making working at the 2nd Wendy’s then and I REALLY wanted to save up and move back to San Diego from Columbus as fast as possible, I contemplated fabricating a story for a second. Honesty is the best policy: When I told him, he said WOW! I was stationed there in the Navy and love Coronado and San Diego! I started making patterns and learning the sign business the next day and put in my resignation 3 years later on April Fool’s day. I moved back to California shortly after. Read more>>