Many business owners we’ve spoken with didn’t start with a huge team on day one. They had to learn how to be a good boss, but the problem is the books on leadership are often highly theoretical and so we wanted to hear practical examples of what it means to be a good boss. So, we asked some brilliant, insightful folks to share stories about the best bosses they’ve had.

ALINA ROGERS

The best “boss” was Gary Steuernagel. When I was new to real estate, I was searching for a brokerage to hold my real estate license and I met Gary. Gary had his own brokerage based out of Missouri City, Texas. He was a special kind of boss, who took the time to walk me through step by step and taught me the ins and outs of being a great Realtor. For over 12 years now he is my friend, mentor and I like to call him my “real estate dad” Read more>>

kirsha campbell

The Best Boss I had was one that challenged me to always find a solution to a problem. He would say ‘Kirsha, until we have a solution , you need to keep trying something else” I remember our department was having bottlenecks receiving key reports for preparing monthly financial reports and he said, you have to find a way to get those reports on time. Read more>>

Noelle Pratt

My boss of the past 6 years, Julie Hutchens, is everything I want to be as a business owner and more. Ms. Julie runs Excite Gym & Cheer in Highland Village. She is so caring and understanding, but knows how to get the job done. Everything about her business is family oriented, from how she interacts with her customers to her employees. Usually with most gymnastics and cheer gyms, you don’t see the owner as much, or they may just oversee, but Julie is involved in every single thing. Read more>>

Sad Renee’

Okay, so imagine a petite black girl sitting across from a much older Caucasian male at your local restaurant. My nervous 24 year old self sat in a chair that felt larger than I could ever be. I was just terminated from a dead end job that I probably should have terminated myself from a long time ago. I wondered if he could sense my nerves because he didn’t respond or seem to notice how I would break eye contact as he fired questions – loud and demanding like gunshots. This was my interview. Read more>>