For more: follow @waylonlewis on Instagram.

Being a Boss Sucks.

When things go well, everyone’s vaguely happy. When things go badly, it’s your fault. 

And that’s how it should be, I guess. The buck stops here, right? It’s a thankless job, by definition.

You know, like parenting!

The funny thing is, most bosses just wanted to be entrepreneurs, to start something meaningful or fun. And then if we encounter some success, well, sooner than later, as with parenting…life changes. Suddenly we have an office, and trash/ compost/ recycling bills, and bills for the water cooler and we’re asking folks to use coasters instead of ruining a brand new (reclaimed) wood table. Suddenly we’re changing the wifi router to speed stuff up or loading a car full of magazines at 8 p.m. or working until 4 a.m., 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. three nights in a row…for years. Our life becomes taking care of a baby…only this baby is a business, and the opportunities to practice mindfulness in communication, mindfulness of all details, mindfulness in taking care of ourselves when we’re working too much…are endless.

Many folks say that rescuing a dog or cat is good practice for being a parent. That’s true. But so is being a boss. You gotta take care of health care, taxes, of folks moving away or getting trained. If their computer isn’t working, or they want to talk about their work for an hour, you’re at their service.

Being a boss isn’t the same thing as being a queen or king. It’s the opposite, really: you’re in service of everyone and everything. And that’s where true leadership resides. I’m on top of the pyramid of the staff that makes up elephant…only the pyramid is upside down, so I’m on the bottom, holding up and serving everyone.

And that’s natural hierarchy.

Three tips for being a Good Boss:

1. Communicate. Communicate often, frequently. If you need to, take a deep breath first. Don’t bottle stuff up. Be transparent. Make fun of yourself frequently.

2. Take care of yourself. Exercise. Meditate. Sleep. Eat real food. Have some semblance of a personal life, once in a while. If I’m not sane, I’m not helping anyone I work with.

3. Remember your job is service. I’m no one’s leader, really…I’m just Waylon. I’m a human. I’m a servant of the cause, the mission, and that includes helping my staff to serve the cause and have fun doing so.

You can check out our mindful business trainings from our week here and here (the videos are unedited…so enjoy!)

Yours in the Vision of an Enlightened Society,