What Is A "Good Boss"?

(Our thanks to HubPages.com for this summary!)

1. Good Listener ~ You need to be a good listener to manage people. Only then can you truly assess and fulfill the needs of your employees.

2. The Blame Stops Here ~ A good boss when confronted with a problem will not point fingers at one of their employees. They absorb the blame on themselves and the whole department. Finger pointing goes back to grade school. Problems could also show issues within the department for which the manager should be taking responsbility.
3. Gets Their Hands Dirty ~ The boss will roll up their sleeves and help their employees when deadlines arise. They truly understand that unless the job is done and done by all, they have not done their job.
4. Mentor ~ A good boss is one that becomes the mentor of their employees. This is a skill and trait that too many businesses are not looking for in managers, but all the good ones have this. They grow and develop their team to be the best that they can be.
5. Communicate ~ Since communication skills are at an all-time low, a manager who can communicate is a gem. They keep their employees informed so that they are not caught unawares, which makes the whole department look bad. This also goes to keeping in touch with each employee individually instead of waiting to their review time, so that any issues can be addressed earlier.
6. Good morale ~ You can also tell who has the good boss, by the morale in the department. That is not saying that they won't have their low times, but mostly they will enjoy their job time together.
7. Provides Resources ~ A good manager makes sure that their employees have the resources on hand to get their jobs done. There are times when the company does not provide those resources so the manager you want is one who tries to think outside that box and still manage to help the group get the job done.
8. Knows What's Going On ~ A manager should not be caught unawares of the issues and accomplishments in their own department. If they are, then they are out of touch with them.
9. Recognizes Employees ~ A good boss regularly lets their employees know that they are appreciated, and thus does not only do this at the times of their yearly reviews. You'll lose good employees if that's your attitude.
10. Understanding ~ A good boss is one that realizes that when emergencies come up in our personal lives that they could (and should) be more important than the job.