What Makes a Great Manager or Boss

Throughout my working life, I've had various jobs. When I was 21, my first job was at a chiropractor's office doing paper work and helping patients with their treatments. Next, I worked as a cashier and merchandise stocker at Office Depot for three years. Then I became a teacher's assistant at a special education school helping emotionally disturbed kids. A year later, I was a teacher's assistant for kids with autism, Asperger's Syndrome, bi-polar issues, etc. In total, I spent two years working with kids that had special needs. Then the big transition happened.  When I was 27, I moved to South Korea in 2003 to teach English to elementary school students and middle school students at an academy. I did that for 15 months before realizing that it wasn't for me. Finally, I've taught adults at two English academies for the past 12 years. With all of this experience, I've had various managers and bosses and I have a pretty good sense of what separates a good manager or boss from a bad one. I've had good bosses, bad ones, and ones that were in between. I want to be fair and even include positive things I observed from bad bosses and negative things I saw in good bosses. So here's my TOP 10 list of what a manager should or shouldn't do:

1. Encourage your employees. If your employee is trying hard to do their best, focus more on what the employee is doing right and less on what the employee is doing wrong.

2. Motivate your employees to be better. If you see that the employee is doing a good job, but could do even better, let them know. However, do it in a way that shows that you have faith in their abilities.

3. Don't show favoritism. This is probably one of the worst things I've observed over the years. Don't nitpick certain employees to keep busy when they have free time while allowing the employees that you like (or happen to have the same nationality as you) to enjoy their free time. Favoritism destroys your credibility and destroys the morale at work.

4. Be fair. This is similar to #3. If you have a high standard for one employee, you should have a high standard for all of them. This shows that you truly care about the company as a whole and you are consistent in what you say. Your employees will respect you and trust you more if you are fair with everyone.

5. Don't micromanage. Focus on the big problems and not the tiny details. This will stress out your employees and stress yourself out as well. Don't sweat the small stuff.

6. A good boss doesn't always have to keep his "boss's cap" on. If you always keep your cap on, every time you walk into the workplace the mood will change, and not in a good way. It's a bad sign when your employees get along well with each other but as soon as you walk by there's an awkward silence.

7. Communicate with your employees. If it's important, tell your employee directly and even if it seems trivial, keep your employees in tune with what's going on in the company. Your employees will feel more open to telling you when there's a problem if you're open about everything as well.

8. Don't be fake. Don't ask your employee how their weekend was unless you really care. Don't be superficial and give them vague answers about your own weekend if I ask you. Just be yourself and be human. You're not a robot.

9. Don't be a hypocrite. If you expect employees to step up their game to help improve the company, you should also be doing the same.

10. Show that you care about your employees. Appreciate them and let them know that you admire their effort. Take them out for pizza or a beer for no reason. Most of all say "Thank you" when your employees do more than their fair share at work.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

The outside of the Colosseum

On the first day of my European trip with my wife, we dove right into the most famous site in Rome: The Colosseum or The Colosseo in Italian (Amphitheatrum Flavium in Latin). We took a bus from Tuscolana Station and got there in about 30-40 minutes. But for most tourists, just get to Termini Station (center of Rome) and take a bus from there. Click here for more details on bus routes.


After we picked up our Roma Pass near there, we got in the line that allowed us to go in before other people. However, since it was a weekday, it wasn't crowded at all but it was VERY hot (38 C or 101 F).

Just inside the entrance of the Colosseum

Let me give you a very short history lesson about the Colosseum. It began being built under Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was finished under his successor Titus in AD 80 after the reign of Nero. The name Colosseum actually derives from the statue of Nero's head that was standing nearby, which later became morphed into the head of Apollo or Helio, the sun god.

You can see a cross on one side of the Colosseum.

What was it used for? It was used for gladiatorial battles, which you seen in movies all of the time, mock sea battles, animal hunts, dramas based on Classical mythology, and executions. However, all that kind of entertainment ceased to exist after the medieval era and started to become used for religious purposes: a Christian shrine, personal religious quarters, housing, etc. On Good Friday, the Pope has a procession that begins around the Colosseum, so the facilities are used for that purpose as well. It's also the largest amphitheater of all time and could seat up to 80,000 spectators. However, the average was about 65,000. See picture below.

The inside of the Colosseum on a very hot day!

My wife and I were thankful that we didn't have too many crowds to deal with. We were able to get a lot of good shots of the amphitheater without having to elbow our way through. My wife thought it was totally worth going and definitely her favorite place in Rome.

A view of the outside of the Roman Forum from a distance.

The great thing about this place is that it was conveniently located just east of the Roman Forum (For Romano in Italian), which was probably my favorite area of Rome. There is so much history in Rome, and although everything is somewhat close by, it requires A LOT of walking. If you do come to Rome in the summer time, take water with you and wear comfortable shoes. Just be aware that bathrooms (toilets) are not easy to come by. So if you come across one, just go even if you have to wait in line. You'll save yourself some agony later.

The way to the Roman Forum

Here's a picture of my wife and I inside the Colosseum. I can cross this one off of my Bucket List!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

My Crazy Adventure in Paris, France

Traveling is awesome but you should always be careful. I was debating on sharing my story to everyone because I felt pretty stupid and very worthless but after today's sermon, I felt like I should share it because Jesus really got us through that day:

On my final day in Paris with my wife after a 10-day vacation (Rome to Venice to Paris), we checked out at 11am. I was pretty much set on eating lunch and then getting to the airport despite our flight being at 7:50pm. Eunhee (my wife) didn't want to be bored so we explored one last area. We ate lunch near our apartment and I'm pretty sure I had my small carry-on bag (with my passport inside). We both had a suitcase and a carry-on bag each by the way. Then we took the bus to "Hotel De Ville" which was a popular area in Paris. 

Three possible situations happened. 1) Either I left my carry-on bag with my passport on the bus 2) I sat down to wait for Eunhee to look around the clothing store and I left it there or 3) Someone snagged it after I put it down while I was looking at my phone. I honestly have no idea what happened to my bag. After Eunhee looked around the store, we went to a cafe so I could wait for here there while she did more shopping. Then as soon as we walked into the cafe, I noticed that I didn't have my bag and I started to freak out inside. 

A very nice woman at the cafe called three places (a restaurant and two stores) that we were at previously and they didn't see it which leads me to believe that I left it on the bus. By this time it was 2:30pm. We went to the police station to file the report. Then we had to take a taxi to get to the US Embassy (3:15). We arrived at the Embassy at 3:45pm and it looked as if it was closing. I called from outside the Embassy and the lady told me that I needed 122 euros to pay for the passport and 4 euros for the photo and of course I didn't have that much. She told me to find an ATM and come back ASAP. Me getting my passport depended on how long it took me to get the money. I got back at 3:50pm and the whole process took an hour. We left close to 5:00pm and we tried to find a taxi while it was raining. Impossible. We finally decided to take the underground which was the best idea with bad weather and a Friday night. Thankfully we got to the airport by 6:00pm, checked in and it was now 6:30pm. We were hungry and our boarding time was 7:20pm. We finished dinner at 7:10, bought some macarons for my coworkers and Eunhee's friends and then had to go through security right by the gate. We boarded at 7:40. PHEW. 

God is good and my wife wasn't angry at me. I felt pretty depressed until hearing a guest speaker at church go through some major hardships in his life but got through them because of the Lord.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy