I conducted a leadership workshop and asked the participants to think about the best boss they had, and what about the boss made him the best.

Nobody said that their boss was from a Tier 1 college, or had expert skills in ABC, or delivered excellent results. 

Instead, they said things like – “My boss coached me when I made mistakes”, “my boss was very supportive during a personal crisis”, “my boss pushed me hard so that I could succeed”, “my boss stood up for the team”

Similarly, when I asked them about their worst boss, no one said the boss went to the lowest tier college, or was incompetent in terms of work skills. No one spoke of results. They only spoke about the relationship they shared with their boss. The relationship was what stayed with them. How their boss made them feel was what stayed with them. 

Everything they said could be reduced to 2 simple statements – 1) My boss cared for me or 2) My boss didn’t care for me.

The human to human connection mattered most. It was primary. The boss-subordinate connection was secondary, and could be built up only on the foundation of the primary connection. 

The primary connection is formed by caring. A leader can transform compliance into commitment by caring. And the difference between compliance and commitment is the difference between good and great results!