I apologize as this might not be the best board for this question, but I couldn't find one more appropriate. This afternoon I had an incident with my leader which has left me asking what to do next. I am the manager of a small reporting team for a company which has several reporting teams. For the past year, I have participated on a project team which is discussing the possibility of centralizing our reporting functions into one team and reporting up through one VP. Currently, I report to the VP of Finance for my division. Other reporting teams report through Customer Service, others through Sales, etc. While giving my boss an update on the project, I made the comment "at the end of the day, it doesn't matter to whom I report," and as soon as it flew out of my mouth I realized that's not what I meant to say, so I added a weak "as long as they are a supportive leader, such as yourself." We spent the next several minutes discussing the project benefits, risks, etc. When he left my office, he said "Well, the only thing I take away from this conversation is that you don't care who you report to," as he made an exaggerated sad pout and walked away. I knew he was kidding, but quite honestly, my boss has been a godsend to me. He is the reason I have not packed up my desk and jumped ship. He has supported me through a number of personal development opportunities, including funding a leadership program for me that is not fully supported by HR. In other words, he's stuck his neck out for me and has been amazing. I am the most junior member of our group, and he has always treated me as an equal and respected my work. After our discussion, I made copies of the presentation file that our group was going to take to the executive committee and left a copy of the presentation on my boss's desk with the note "To the best boss EVER!" He called me up and we had a good laugh and he said "it's too late to suck up now, the damage is done." Now I am probably putting way too much thought into this and should just move on, but I feel awful. My question is this: is there an appropriate way to let my boss know how much I value his leadership? Would a letter be coming on too strong? A card? I realize there is a Hallmark holiday for "Bosses Day" which just passed, but some other recognition would be more genuine. Or should I just let it drop and try to watch what I say in future conversations?
Kelly
Kelly