October 16th is Boss Day. Although Hallmark has used this as an opportunity to develop and sell more cards, they did not start the holiday. Patricia Bays Haroski started Boss Day to recognize her father and also use it as a day to improve relationships between a boss and their team members. All this began in 1958, a different era and approach to management.

Today, complete top-down management style has changed to being flatter and more culture-based. Two recent books – A World Gone Social and The Culture Engine – point to this shift. Through our social age and culture focus, improving relationships is still a very valid mission, something that should be practiced each day.

Another shift in today’s environment is everyone is their own boss. What I mean is we all should be the boss of our life and leadership pursuits. We shouldn’t wait for someone to tell us how to lead or how to develop relationships. We should be the boss of ourselves. Some call this personal branding. In 1999, Tom Peters instigated this focus with his book The Brand You.Celebrate Boss Day

We need to embrace the role of boss in our personal development. I would like to start a B.Y.O. Boss (On Purpose) Day – that is, Be Your Own Boss (On Purpose) Day. In 2014, this is the shift required, replacing Boss Day with a focus on owning our growth.

There are several ways to celebrate Be Your Own Boss Day and do so on purpose every day. Let’s explore this new celebration of self-leadership and discovery!

5 Ways to Celebrate Boss Day, Every Day, and B.Y.O. Boss

1 – Celebrate what you read.

Each day, read something that adds value to the way you think. Reading can be leadership books and articles and blogs on various topics, which give snapshots into different perspectives. Another way is to read novels and biographies, gaining insights into various stories and human experiences. Reading is learning, and learning is leading. If leadership is a craft, then we need to own our craft.

Celebrate words. Celebrate what they spark inside you.

– Celebrate the time dedicated to self-reflection.

Time should be set aside to just think about your day. This can be done by taking short walks, meditating at the beginning of a day, or just having quiet time as you drive home. There are moments during the day to unplug and reflect on words said and actions taken. The objective is to think about what you could have done differently and what you learned from various interactions. This is where that purpose thread begins to weave through our thoughts and begins to appear in our actions.

Celebrate self-awareness. Celebrate your thoughts that matter and let go of those that don’t.

3 – Celebrate the time to laugh and have fun.

You need several light moments each day. Tell a joke. Share a laugh. Skip around the block. Go bowling. Whatever creates a moment to exercise your laugh and smile should be done. The release will serve you well by resetting your mindset and refreshing your soul. In many ways, laughter is your soul’s sneeze. It is that jolt to experience a new sense.

Celebrate your smile. Celebrate your laugh. Enlighten your soul.

4 – Celebrate the relationships of those who make you better.

People are all around, whether in an office next door or down the hall. People are in our apartment complex or our homes. People are in our community. By connecting with another person, we gain more than a friend; we gain someone who delivers a different perspective and offers us a potential challenge. Good people make us better in all we do. We share in this responsibility. We need to be a good person and make others better in what they do.

Our purpose relates directly to how our relationships blossom into doing something to make our part of the world better.

Celebrate people. Celebrate a community who strengthens each other.

5 – Celebrate what you have learned and what you have shared.

Personal growth needs to be a constant. When you stop learning, you stop being effective. Pat yourself on your back in what you have learned. And don’t keep it to yourself. Share what you learned with others. Engage in meaningful conversations. In the process, you will spark in others an equal desire to learn and share. The give-and-take will become contagiously good. Shared growth is what will make each self-boss smile in what is possible through the potential of themselves and others.

Celebrate what you have learned. Celebrate through sharing.

On Purpose

Be You Own Boss needs to be held in check. It is not always about you. There is a higher purpose in what you do, what your team does, and what your organization is all about. There is greater purpose in your communities as well. Keep yourself centered on purpose, not just in yourself. Celebrate who you are and what you can become, and always keep the higher purpose front-and-center in all. This is why On Purpose is embedded in B.Y.O. Boss.

Are you ready to start a new holiday, refreshing Boss Day to B.Y.O. Boss Day? With more focus on personal and leadership development, our relationships will grow stronger and Patricia Bays Haroski’s original purpose will be raised to a renewed level of achievement. Let’s celebrate B.Y.O. Boss (On Purpose) Day, every day!

How do you celebrate and practice being your own boss?