When Marcia Griffin was awarded Victoria's first ever Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 1995, it was the next step in a diverse career which had leapfrogged from secondary school teaching to economics (Griffin was an economist at the Australian Wool Corporation) and then, entrepreneurship.
In the business world, Griffin made the most of her time with Pola Cosmetics, a Japanese company with a direct sales model. Over 16 years she built what started as a small franchise selling cosmetics at friends' houses into a multimillion-dollar business with more than 4700 consultants; an achievement even more impressive considering Griffin began without any sales experience under her belt.
When Griffin sold her share of Pola Cosmetics in 1997 she continued her portfolio career, which has also included writing books (the latest, written with a psychologist, is about how to maintain a positive outlook); numerous board positions; and most recently, a council position at her local council in Melbourne (Stonnington City Council).
Today, as the chair of the CEO Institute, Griffin uses her years of experience as a boss to help others. She regularly mentors chief executives and has been a judge for the Telstra Business Women's Awards since 2004.
From Griffin's perspective, Australian bosses are primarily concerned with improving their abilities in two areas.
"CEOs I have worked with or mentored often feel they need to be better at strategic planning and ensuring their businesses have the best culture possible," she says.
Achieving the latter often means being able to inspire others about the big picture.
"To become a better boss requires excellent leadership skills, having a clear strategic direction and being able to take people on a journey." Once everyone knows where the company is headed, Griffin believes good bosses give their employees some space. She believes micromanaging is just one warning sign that can repel good employees and potentially send staff turnover skyrocketing.
"Good bosses do attract good people ... It is widely acknowledged that having a good boss is more powerful than earning power, assuming the pay is acceptable. Employees tend to leave jobs more often because they have a bad manager or boss rather than for better money," she says.
For those bosses keen to improve their status with staff, Griffin says the first step is to never rest on your laurels. She says a learning culture is important in all organisations, and that should start at the top. While books and courses can help (most good bosses have a couple of favourites), networking can play an important role in helping bosses become better at their job.
"Organisations such as The CEO Institute hold monthly CEO meetings and networking events ... [where bosses] share real-life experiences and challenges in a very open, yet confidential, manner," Griffin says.
Happily for employees, they don't have to wait until they're in the door before gathering information on a potential boss. It's now easier than ever to do some homework on who you'll be working for.
"There are many ways you can now find out about your future boss: LinkedIn and even Facebook can tell you what type of person the boss is," says Griffin.