How to be a Cool Boss (or other business leader)

How to be a Cool Boss and Get the Most from Your Team

First of all, 'cool' is hard to fake. You are either cool or you're not. But, there is hope if you aren't yet cool, for cool is a way of being that eventually absorbs into you. Am I cool? Of course I am! How can I tell? I can't, people tell me. It's not something I am aware of every day, but the ways I operate and communicate with people have helped the 'coolness' to manifest itself, whether I know it or not.

It all started with me keeping myself open to different things at a very young age. My mother was a die-hard traveler, who flew to exotic lands and brought back music and  little relics of culture from around the world and my father has always been one of the coolest cats on the planet, bringing his young sons to the coolest movies that we wouldn't be allowed to go to on our own. Those experiences stayed with me until this very day and are part of who I am.

I would eventually go through many part time jobs and carry my coolness with me as I went along. I befriended cool musicians and we formed a cool band that was (and is) unlike any other band around, which is a very cool thing to be a part of. Our lead singer is especially cool and has always been the one people talked to because he was very approachable off stage and didn't have the giant ego about him when he was simply hanging out with others.

Along the way, I met so many cool people that I am still friends with today. That is not to say that I didn't run into my share of uncool folks - there were plenty of those, but they weren't invited to the gatherings of the cool people. In fact, very often a party host will ask if somebody is cool or not. Knowing that the origin of the term comes from the phrase 'let cool heads prevail', we can assume cool people are not going to cause unnecessary grief at a given occasion.

Whenever I made a film project, the team liked what they were a part of and I was even told a few times that people had a better time working on a set where the director wasn't yelling at anybody. If the budget is super low, you cannot afford to lose anybody, so by yelling, you will cause the 'vision' to be blurry to those who are contemplating walking off the set.

The same thing happens on stage whenever I perform; if you create a positive atmosphere for all involved in the show, it will be a better show and it's in the best interest of the performers to lead the way for everybody else to follow the example.

So, are you about 'cooled out' now? Enough with it already, right? Let's forget about the actual term and continue.

People like being around others who won't cause them undue grief, who are educated by life as much as by literature (both fiction and non-fiction) and lecture, who appreciate other cultures, who can give others the benefit of the doubt, are easy to get along with and remain calm as well as discreet when differences arise. Those guidelines are what make a person a great leader who is respected and liked by team members, co-workers, friends and family. 

One more thing worth noting - I've always had great results when people felt as if they were a part of something....er...'cool'.

- Buck Moore