Years Later, I Still Remember How They Led

I received a LinkedIn notification recently.

It was a message from one of my former bosses during my corporate years.

Nothing work-related.

No job offer. No business proposal. Just a simple message catching up on life.

He asked how things were going for me here in the Philippines, and we exchanged a few updates about where life had taken us.

Then he mentioned that he has about two years left before retirement.

And somehow, that made me smile.

Because suddenly I was remembering those years when we worked together - and how different our lives are now.

They Were a Good Tandem

Back then, he was second in command and worked closely with our General Manager.

And honestly, they were a good management tandem.

I was handling HR and Administration, so my job naturally placed me somewhere between management and the staff.

Management had targets to meet.

The company had to make money.

There were budgets, deadlines and operational problems.

And then there were employees-with concerns, suggestions, requests and sometimes problems that landed on my desk.

Basically, HR gets to hear from everyone. 😂

But working with those two made my job easier in one very important way:

I knew the welfare of the staff mattered to them.

Of course, the bottom line mattered too. We were running a business, after all.

But it wasn’t the only thing that mattered. 

And when you’re working in HR, you can feel the difference.

They Didn’t Just Trust Me. They Listened.

Looking back, this is probably one of the things I appreciated most.

They didn’t simply trust me to handle HR and Administration.

They listened.

If I came to them with an idea or suggestion that I thought would benefit the staff, they would hear me out and genuinely consider it.

Not every suggestion could be approved.

That’s normal.

There were budgets and other things to consider.

But I never felt like I was bringing employee concerns to management just to tick an HR box.

There was a real conversation.

And I remember one particular moment with our General Manager.

He told me very clearly:

“We’ve always got your back.”

I still remember that.

After all these years.

Maybe Because HR Is Often Somewhere in the Middle

When you’re handling HR and Administration, there are times when you have to raise things that aren’t necessarily convenient.

Sometimes you have to ask for something that will cost the company money. 😂

Sometimes you have to bring an employee concern to the table.

Sometimes you have to say:

I understand the business side, but can we also look at what this means for the staff?

Knowing that I could have those conversations made a difference.

I could suggest.

I could question.

I could advocate for something I believed would be better for the employees.

And I knew management would at least listen.

They might say yes.

They might say no.

But the people affected by the decision would be considered.

That’s very different from simply being told:

This is management’s decision. Implement it.

You Remember Certain Bosses Differently

I’ve worked with many people throughout my career.

Different companies.

Different countries.

Different personalities.

And definitely different management styles. 😂

Some bosses teach you what to do.

Some unintentionally teach you what not to do.

And then there are a few whose leadership stays with you long after you’ve stopped working together.

Not because they gave inspiring speeches.

Not because they had impressive titles.

And certainly not because of all those meetings we attended that felt extremely important at the time. 😂

You remember them because of how it felt to work under their leadership.

You were trusted to do your job.

Your ideas were heard.

You could advocate for your staff.

And even when the answer couldn’t always be yes, you knew the people making the decision had considered the human side of it.

That’s the kind of leadership I remember.

And Now, Retirement Is Around the Corner

He told me he has about two years before retirement.

Meanwhile, my own life has taken a completely different direction.

I’m back in the Philippines.

I’m working virtually now.

I’m raising a teenager.

And I’m slowly building and exploring things I probably wouldn’t have imagined for myself during those corporate years.

Life moved.

For both of us.

There was a time when we saw each other almost every working day.

There were meetings.

Problems to solve.

Employees to look after.

Deadlines.

Budgets.

And probably hundreds of emails that seemed terribly urgent at the time. 😂

Now we’re simply two former colleagues on LinkedIn asking each other:

How have you been?

There’s something nice about that.

Maybe This Is What Good Leadership Leaves Behind

Years after someone leaves your company, they probably won’t remember every policy you approved.

They won’t remember every meeting you chaired.

They won’t remember whether you hit every monthly target.

But they may remember whether you were fair.

Whether you listened.

Whether they could speak honestly around you.

Whether you considered the people behind the numbers.

And sometimes, they remember one simple sentence.

“We’ve always got your back.”

I don’t think my General Manager knew when he said those words that I would still remember them years later.

But I do.

And perhaps that’s the part that stayed with me after receiving that LinkedIn message.

It wasn’t only nostalgia for my corporate years.

It was gratitude.

I was fortunate enough to experience what it was like to work under leaders I respected.

And many years later, when one of them simply messaged to ask how life was going, the respect was still there.

Maybe that’s one of the best things a leader can leave behind.

Not just good business results.

But former employees who, years later, can still genuinely say:

They were good people to work for.