Most of us spend our work lives somewhere below the very top of the flow chart. Thus, there’s always someone to whom we report — i.e., a boss. For many of us, there have been a number of different people in that role over the years.
The best boss I ever had was Joe Sigler, then director of medical center public relations at Duke. I was on his staff in the late ‘70s. I enjoyed being around him, while admiring and learning from his skill as a public relations professional. He was friendly, had a good sense of humor and cared about other people.
I felt validated as a person and as an early-career professional. He had a knack for coming up with the best approach to just about any situation, sometimes on the spur of the moment. When he offered guidance, it was never in a patronizing way, but rather as a mentor.
Many mornings he would ask me, “Are you ready for a cup?” and we would go over to the hospital cafeteria for coffee. There were at least two others — administrators in a clinical department — who met us there pretty much every time. There was a lot of friendly banter, though some picking of one another’s brains on the business we were in.
Sometimes we were joined by the man who was directing the planning of a new hospital building. The conversation then was no less friendly, but more work-oriented. The promotion of the new facility had its roots in these coffee sessions.
Joe was a runner and a significant influence on my decision to take up running seriously. He was a fellow dog lover. For one of our vacations, we were able to leave our dog at his house.
Joe led us to the national championship in 1978. Both the American Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges gave us their awards as the top public relations program in the country that year.
Among those taking notice was the University of Texas, which was establishing a public relations office at its medical center in Houston. With plenty of oil money, UT was able to lure Joe away. One staff member was willing to go with him. (The other professional on the staff and I didn’t want to leave the area but were both hired away by UNC.)
We’ve stayed in touch through the years. I visited Joe once on my way to a conference in Texas. I sent him a copy of my book of short stories, signing it and adding a note thanking him for helping me become a decent writer. He read it cover-to-cover and sent back his complimentary reactions to many of the stories.
John B's blog 
You inspire me.
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I think a teenager with his/her first job needs to be micromanaged. For all the resentment it causes in the young employee, the respect for labor, for being at the bottom of the labor market and being asked to work the hardest, sets standards that we never forget. A family business is tough for the owner, too. It’s all on him. Any day a new event could wipe out your steady income. Many small business people have a lot of their ‘discretionary income’ in the business. It sometimes causes the owner to think less about employee relations. I’m glad to see that he made it to “best boss” category.
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My best boss was very “hands off” but his door was always open. He taught by encouraging you to use resources available to you and come to your own conclusions. He always pointed me in the correct direction and I am quite certain I learned more that way.
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Dascheil Propes, CPCU
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Two different bosses were subjects of the past two entries. I worked for the First Boss as a teen in the mid-’60s. The Best Boss was in the late ’70s, by which time I was a professional and the “supervision” was in the form of mentoring. The first boss, though, was one of the better I ever had. And I really appreciated the level of trust he displayed when he would call me in to help out in busy times without a single word about what I should do.
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