An Open Letter to the Best Manager Ever

Great managers can have an enormous impact on their employees. A bad manager, on the other hand, can be so detrimental to an employee's career and happiness that they may want to quit. Fortunately, as many articles on this topic point out, great managers are the majority; it's just unfortunate that we rarely hear about them when discussing terrible managers or bad experiences with management in general. This article is a letter from an employee to their manager – one of the good ones – listing all the things they learned because of them.

Hopefully, it will inspire you as much as it has inspired me.

To The Best Manager I've Ever Had.

Too often, we fail to give people their flowers until it's too late. You were the manager I've always wanted but didn't think I would ever get. I want to share the four reasons why you are the best manager I've ever worked with in my career.

1. You showed me how to be a good manager.

Many traits make a good manager, but one that stands out is the ability to coach. Coaching employees is important because it helps them improve as individuals and benefits the organization. You were great at this. You didn't just tell us what to do and then leave us hanging. You took the time to explain why we were doing certain things, helped us identify our strengths and weaknesses, and gave us actionable advice and feedback. 

Because of you, I now understand that the best managers don't just have their people do what they think needs to be done; they provide them with the tools they need to succeed and help them get there. You didn't just expect us to do our jobs; you showed us how to do them.

2. You taught me how to create a healthy work-life balance.

A healthy work-life balance is essential for productivity and happiness. Unfortunately, it's something that many managers don't understand and that many employees don't have the freedom to create for themselves. While you didn't tell us how to do this, you did demonstrate it. You knew when to push and when to let go. You weren't always in the office. You knew when to let employees use their judgment and when to step in and decide. You weren't always available. You knew when to let employees work through things on their own and when to offer help. You were patient. You knew when to push employees when it really mattered and when to let things go. You didn't just show us how to create a healthy work-life balance at our job; you showed us how to do this in our lives as a whole.

3. You've shown me why it's important to be part of the team.

Teams matter because they allow individuals to accomplish more than they could on their own. When people are on teams, they have to work together, share knowledge, and support one another. You were a great example of this in action. You weren't a lone wolf manager. You created opportunities for us to work together, share ideas, and help each other out. Because of this, we became a team. We felt like a family. Because we genuinely cared about each other, we were able to accomplish more than we ever thought we could as a group. You showed us that true leadership isn't about one person; it's about a group of people coming together to achieve something great.

4. You've shown me why it's so important to celebrate success.

Life is tough. It gets harder as we advance in leadership and start to take on more responsibilities for growth and culture. Because so much of leadership is about dealing with stress and struggle, it's easy to forget to celebrate success. You didn't just sit back and let us deal with the stress of work. You made sure to celebrate our accomplishments and you made this a priority. You didn't just give us the occasional bonus or acknowledge that we did a good job. You made sure to recognize and celebrate our successes as a group, and you did this often. You showed us that it's not enough just to do a good job; we have to do a great job and celebrate it when we do. You showed us that all of the hard work and effort we put into our team and our organization matters.

Simply put, you are the best manager I've ever had.

Every manager has the potential to be great, but only some managers are worth thanking for making a difference in their team members' careers. Great managers know their job is more than just getting work done. It's about growing and developing employees, creating a healthy work-life balance, and ensuring everyone is successful.

You were one of those great managers, and we're all better for it.You were the manager I've always wanted but didn't think I would ever get.

Thank you for everything!