Author Archives: Rusty Rueff

About Rusty Rueff

Rusty Rueff, author of purposed worKING. Rusty Rueff is the former Chairman Emeritus of The GRAMMY Foundation in Los Angeles. He most recently completed the successful 16 month leadership role as Coordinating National Co-Chair for Technology for Obama (T4O) for the reelection of President Obama and ten-years of Board service and President of the Board of Trustees of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Corporately, most recently Rueff was the Chief Executive Officer at SNOCAP, Inc. until the acquisition of the company by imeem, Inc. in April 2008. Before joining SNOCAP in 2005, he was Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Electronic Arts (EA) from 1998 until 2005. He was also with the PepsiCo companies for more than ten years, with the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies for two years, and in commercial radio as an on-air personality for six years. Rusty holds an M.S. in counseling and a B.A. in radio and television from Purdue University. In 2003 he was named a distinguished Purdue alumnus, and he and his wife, Patti, are the named benefactors of Purdue’s Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. He is a corporate director of Glassdoor.com and runcoach. He is the co-founder and Executive Committee Member of T4A.org, serves on the Founding Circle of The Centrist Project and a founding Board Member of The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition. He is also the co-author of the book Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. Rusty and his wife, Patti, reside in Hillsborough, CA and Charlestown, R.I.

day 508: Who’s The Boss?

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A common event in the workplace is when a new boss shows up on the scene that a power struggle between the person who believes they should be, or should have been, the boss and the new boss. This game over power can be destructive to the team and to the people involved. I have seen teams of people basically ruin the chance for the new boss to succeed. I have also seen the power struggle start and the new boss declare that he/she is the new sheriff and people on the team get pushed out and replaced. This begs the question on why it is it so hard for us to willingly let someone new take over and for us to give that person our 100% support? It’s like it is some kind of ego thing that keeps us from allowing a new person to easily slide into the leadership seat and for us to step forward and give that person the respect, support and following that they have been given, or more than likely, that they earned. Maybe it is not just ego that gets in the way, maybe it is also fear of change and fear of the unknown. We get comfortable to the way things have been and we don’t want change or anything that is going to disrupt the way it has always been. Regardless, we should try and find a way to be more supportive so that we are known as a person who can accept and welcome change and know our place in the hierarchy of our organization. To not accept our place is to come across as overly ambitious, coveting, envious and even jealous. A good reminder is what Paul told us about how we are to work; “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” If we can work like this, then all the rest falls into the right perspective. If we are working like we are working for the Lord, there is no question about who is the boss and in fact, that would be a silly question. So today, if you are struggling with someone new on the team, a new role, or a new boss, remember that the question is not who’s the boss, but rather how willingly are we working for that new boss?

Reference: Colossians 3:23 (New Living Testament)