#bossgoals

Last week, I met quite a few people from my two previous workplaces. It was lovely to see all of them but a highlight was the unexpected message I received from my former manager (pictured above in Dubai where we were on a business trip together in 2012) who was in Vienna for a day only and asked if I was spontaneously available to meet him before his flight back to Hamburg. Since I already had dinner plans, we only had one hour to catch up, but the mere fact that he thought of getting in touch (to quote him "I thought if she only has 15 minutes to say "hi" and exchange a hug would already be worth it") really made me my day. We share so many happy and funny memories working in the same crazy team that travelled and partied so so much. It really was a period of "work hard, play hard" and since then I am forever spoilt when it comes to hotels as the four years in his team were a blur of design hotels and fancy dinners. It seems like a lifetime ago and even though I have resigned myself to the fact that my work life is not remotely glamorous any more, but the subject matter of my work is way more interesting now, to be fair, I do get quite nostalgic at times. My ex boss has also since left that team and is currently not experiencing the best time at work, so those golden days are a thing of the past for him as well.

It actually was on that trip to Dubai that I realised what a privilege it was to have a boss whom it does not feel an obligation to have dinner with, but whom you can talk to like a friend. Having had a horrible manager before, who was a bully and really poisoned the atmosphere in the team, working in this new team was like a breath of fresh air and I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulder. We were the only German speakers in the (small) team, which created an extra bond and I really took it as a compliment when he repeatedly told me that I was a "great travel companion". Since then, he is my personal benchmark for a great manager who can also be a friend and confidant...and who gets in touch years after you don't report to him any more.