I've been at more than my fair share of establishments. The boss that stands out as the worst, hands down, had two traits that stood out: 1. An alpha persona

I've been at more than my fair share of establishments. The boss that stands out as the worst, hands down, had two traits that stood out: 1. An alpha personality that could admit no wrong. 2. A failure to leverage his senior people for their abilities, everyone was treated as a contractor and told what/how to do it. This was a startup and the behavior basically resulted in a couple of us leaving. There were other bits of the startup that were chaotic (and could be attributed to a fast/changing environment), but this individuals behavior sealed the deal for a couple of us. Personally, I've had to manage a bit here and there. When it is a small company/team, I really prefer to understand everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Cater to the strengths, learn where I can, and try and fill in the weaknesses with other's strengths. Even with many years of experience, there is still something I can learn from most people (rockstar, average, etc.)