In this month’s issue of Fortune Small Business, there is an article entitled “America’s Best Bosses“. The article is about the Winning Workplace’s 2006 Best Boss Award. It just so happens that Graham Weston, Chairman and CEO of Rackspace Managed Hosting, was one of this year’s winners. (For those who don’t know, I work at “the Rack”.)

As I read the profile on Graham, one thing sort of bothered me. There seemed to be a large emphasis on the material rewards that Graham is known to dole out - the keys to his BMW, a stay at his house on the river. That’s all well and good, but I don’t think that it fully captures exactly why Graham is (in my opinion) the best CEO around.

Anyone can find ways to give gifts to their employees. It takes someone special to find ways to help their employees use their own gifts - the special talents, skills, and abilities that make them who they are. As someone who has labored under bosses who are concerned with fixing what is “wrong” with a person, Graham’s style of thinking is a breath of fresh air. Rather than fixing flaws, Graham is interested in finding ways to allow employees to use their strengths. It sounds like a small thing, but it makes all the difference in the world.

My “fatal flaw” is that I’m probably one of the most disorganized people you will ever meet. My desk looks like a war zone. Most of the dead-tree documents that are given to me end up stuffed into a giant file folder simply labeled “Papers.” That is not to say that I am not effective. I love to think, to strategize. I love looking at processes and finding ways to make them better. I love working with an employee to make them a superstar. But I hate planning out my day in one of those dorky little Franklin Covey planners. I hate filing away paperwork, and cleaning up my desktop.

Thus, the first time I heard Graham speak (during Rackspace’s “Rookie Orientation”), I was blown away. He had a story similar to mine – he was completely, utterly, hopelessly disorganized. He had spent years trying to develop a way to get organized. He read hundreds of books, met with experts, tried every single organizational method known to man. And then it hit him – he was spending hours and hours each day trying to become merely ok at something he had no natural talent for. Based on the teachings in Gallup’s “Now Discover Your Strengths”, he decided to take that time, and spend it on something that he was great at – leading Rackspace into the future.

His message to us that day was clear, and it has remained constant during my time at the Rack. Spend your time doing what you are great at. Don’t strive for well-roundedness – well rounded people seldom make history.

Graham is the best boss around not because of his willingness to toss you his keys, but rather, his willingness to help all of his employees do what they are great at, every single day.