A manager worth working for: how do you know when you've found the right manager to throw in with?

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: Column

THERE WAS FRED, PAUL, BOO, JOHN, STAN, Larry, Jerry, Terry and Mr. Benion just to mention the ones that come immediately to mind.

Those people are bosses I have had over the years. Mr. Benion was one of the first. He owned the drug store in Buffalo, N.Y., where I held my first real job besides a paper route. I was a soda jerk behind a fountain, making and serving shakes and hamburgers.

But only a couple of these guys were really worth working for.

By being worth it I mean they either turned me on to their plan, helped me learn something or taught me something about life or success.

For example, Mr. Benion didn't talk to me very much. When he closed the lunch counter in his pharmacy, all he told me was that I didn't have a job anymore. I had no idea whether I was part of the problem or part of the solution.

If you're the boss, you have to get me to buy into a worthwhile goal, and an organized plan to get it accomplished. Without those two ingredients, you will have little chance of keeping top producers on your team.

A few really good bosses that I've had, however, had some things in common. Here are four characteristics of successful bosses that you don't find in everyone. They can make the difference between an exciting, rewarding job and one that has you looking for reasons to play golf instead of work.

A great boss makes me feel important if not critical to success. If you're the boss and I'm the worker, you have to spend the time necessary to explain and bring me in on your plan as a key player. Your plan will be aggressive and exciting. You will have to convince me not only that I am essential to achieving the goal but also that I have what it takes to get the job done. To a large extent, my confidence is your responsibility.

A great boss is a builder of people. If you're the boss, I will think that you get a bigger kick out of my success than you do from your own. I will be convinced that you are...