Boss.

'We don't use words like sir, ma and boss around here. Everyone is addressed by their first name. I understand in your culture those words are used often especially to address people who are older or in positions of authority; but that does not apply here. We are a multinational company'.

I remember being told the following words when I joined the first multinational company where I worked  Over the next couple of months one had to learn how to say 'John or Mary' to someone you would ordinarily refer to as Mr Smith or Mrs Smith or simply sir or ma; it took some getting used to. However over time, I realized that there were people I called 'boss' because they had earned my respect most often as senior colleagues. They were not always my line managers but the ones who had inspired me and often those I looked up to. Not all the people I worked with earned the title 'boss'.

Where am I going with all this? Because it has taken more than a decade of being a professional to understand what I want my mark to be by the time I leave paid employment. I know now that I want my legacy to be that I have impacted people I work with positively such that they look up to me and are inspired; they know that they can do more, can be more. 

And when I get notes like this from people I have worked with, it encourages me am on the right track. If I am ever called 'boss', my definition of boss mind you, I want to feel I have earned the title.