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Most important lesson learned as a boss:
Steven Covey calls it ‘servant leadership,’
which basically means managing with the
attitude that the primary job of a boss is to
make his team successful. In the end, it’s
typically not the boss that does the work,
it’s the team members. It’s not the coach
that plays the game, it’s the players. So
the boss needs to do everything in their
power to make sure their team is positioned
for success. Make sure you hire the right
person for the job, give them the proper
training, and support them with resources
they need to succeed because when each
team member succeeds, then the team
succeeds, and that is the measure of a
successful boss.
Philosophy for successfully managing
people:
Set goals at the company
level and let them cascade through
each team and team member. Allow
everyone in the company to see how
they contribute to the overall success
of the company, then let each team
member define how they will achieve
their goals. Hold people accountable to
their goals, not how they achieve them.
To create a positive team culture:
We
try to hire people with shared values. We
make sure everyone knows what our core
values are and we recognize when people
do great things in line with those values.
One of our core values is “Embrace the
Fun.” It’s not about happy hours or “work
hard, play hard.” It’s about finding joy in
what you do and the people you do it with
every day. Life is too short to be miserable
at work eight hours per day. Put a smile
on someone’s face. Let someone know you
appreciate them. Those little things can
make all the difference.
Best advice for other people managers?
It’s pretty much what I already mentioned
above: set goals, but let your people
define how to achieve them. Hold them
accountable but don’t be a jerk about
it. You don’t have to be mean to be an
effective manager, but you have to be firm
and make sure you both agree on how to
measure success in advance. Embrace
the fun, smile, have a laugh—you don’t
have to be serious all the time to get stuff
done. Give your people the ability to grow
and take on more stuff. Most people
are capable of so much more than we
may initially think. Give them a chance
to prove it. They may surprise both you
and themselves.
Best boss ever:
Sheila Ferguson,
president of Everyday Wealth. She held
me accountable to a higher standard than
I had been used to before. She gave me
autonomy to define the way I wanted to
achieve the goals we set together, and
then she held my feet to the fire to ensure
I did what I had committed to.
ONE-ON-ONE WITH HENRIK JOHANSSON
13
“I believe in you.”
14
“Let’s give it a try.”
15
“I’m glad you are
part of our team.”
16
“What do you think?”
17
“Here’s why we’re
doing this.”
18
“How’s everything
going this week?”
19
“I’m listening.”
20
“How are your kids,
parents, dog, etc.?”
9
“I appreciate you.”
10
“I want to hear
your ideas.”
11
“I know you
can do it.”
12
“Thank you.”
It’s about
finding joy in
what you do
and the people
you do it with
every day.
HENRIK’S COOL FACTOR
He participates side-by-side with
employees in outside company
activities such as running in
the Austin Statesman Cap 10k
and Car2Go marathon relay.
“How many employees can say
they’ve run a 10k next to their
CEO?” asks nominator Sarah
Radin, marketing associate.
“Henrik’s management style
is unlike any boss or CEO I’ve
ever known. Approaching
him feels like approaching
any other team member.”
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OCTOBER 2016
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53
Best Bosses
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FEATURE