Even at the risk of over simplification, a good read is “Good Boss or Bad Boss. Which are You?” by Paul R. Brown in the New York Times.
As I went through the list of attributes that made bosses good or even bad, one point was re-inforced in my mind. Ultimately, it is the way we conduct ourselves that makes these impressions on others. The points listed are not earth shaking. They are so simple yet we do not give them the required importance or priority.
The good news is that no one became a good boss from the day he/she was born. They learnt the ropes as they went along, learning from their mistakes and picking up good practices and habits from more effective others.
The bad news is that if we are not careful and practice effective managerial skills as a matter of course, we could become complacent and lazy. Within a short while, we slide downhill as we ignore the things we gave importance to yesterday. Sooner than later we end up as a bad boss!
So it’s really up to you. Take your pick. Would be rather be know as a good boss or a bad one?
People at Work & Play 
Great post again Prem. I just did a training event yesterday on how to Manage Your Boss wit a bunch of managers. They found it really insightful when they began to recognise that whatever strengths they had ‘caste long shadows’. So those that are goal directed, ambitious, achievers can be seen as insensitive, arrogant and uncaring. Those who build great teams can be seen as too focussed on relationships and indecisive. So we are all both good and bad leaders all of the time. The challenge is to be aware of the shadow that you cast.
We also spent some time discussing the human tendency to overlook the good bits of the boss and focus on the bad. The faults are always magnified in the perception of the report while the strengths are diminished.
Solid relationships that can withstand the realities of human character strengths and weaknesses provide the key to being the best boss that you can.