Probably the most convenient and famous of phrases used across the world of Corporates.Why then write an article on it, you might ask?Call it taking the phrase to the next level,or maybe it's because I myself use it as freely as breathing the air.Either ways,Iam sure I belong to a crowded club of believers!!!
As many people in industry today well know, the comic strip Dilbert skewers corporate life brilliantly. His self-impressed boss doesn't have a clue, often demanding ridiculous projects and killing sensible ones. I'm sure nothing like that ever happens at our company, but many people in the corporate world think it hits darn close to home.
But how serious are we when we use the phrase??Is it just a catch phrase while enjoying a cup of hot coffee during a hectic day or during the "gossip" weekends where words flow freely after a much required strong drink finds it's place in your guts?Let's look at it in a logical perspective.
Scenario One............Everybody does it...So I go with the flow....Fair enough!Very rarely do you find a person loving his/her boss,(most probably he/she is the one who never has any friends at work and has lunch alone!!!!)This though is very illogical and taking into consideration that people hate anyone asking them for deadlines,results and improvement,It is not the individual who is the problem but the term as such.So that would mean that not all managers are bad at what they do.It has to be the term "boss" which gets on to your nerves.You can be rest assured that even your boss would be blaming his boss......So we arrive at the conclusion that all managers are good people,but we just hate them for holding a position higher than us.
Results:Hmmm......Interesting but not very convincing isn’t it?
Scenario Two........"People cannot be managed.Inventories can be managed but people must be led."Ross Perot, founder, EDS Corporation probably has a point here.So it's a question of Leadership and of probably good managers and bad managers.One thing seems sure......At some point of time you would have to deal with a bad manager.It’s as inevitable as death and taxes.A thin line determines whether your boss is a good or bad manager.But quite often it turns out to be a one off incident or scenario deciding the boss's fate.But that's the easier way.After that,even the coffee machine breaking down is blamed on the boss!!!
Results:Much more logical,So lets take up the discussion from this point on.(who cares,I hear you say???)
You Should......For the simple reason that blaming your boss may make you feel high,for the moment.But that's all it does.A good drink would do that better.If you’ve never had a bad boss, count yourself lucky. Bosses who lose their temper, play favorites or can’t communicate—and that’s just a start on the list of managerial misbehavior—can make going in to work annoying, humiliating and infuriating. And, unless you’re independently wealthy, you’re probably not in a position to tell your boss to take this job and shove it.
Becoming aware that this is a problem is the first step.If you do get stuck with a lousy boss, you’ll need a strategy for dealing with the things that your boss does—or doesn’t do—that drive you crazy.Blaming him or her would get you only so far.So it's the prerogative of each individual in the corporate world to know his/her boss.Here are your options:
Is he/she the Micro managing boss?---One who does'nt expect too much from you and you start wondering how he/she became a manager at all????
A Ballistic Boss?----One who yells his way up the corporate ladder and you always seem to be the favorite victim.When things are going fine,you might probably be treated like an amoeba.
An Unreasonable Boss??----A very close relative of the Ballistic boss,who has expectations that range from unreasonable to impossible.
An Inexperienced Boss???----The kind who came out of school,were smart, won awards, came into companies,worked their tails off, got promoted, and their whole lives they’ve always been recognized for their abilities and skills,But all of a sudden they have to be able to talk to people, to manage people and to evaluate people.An in most cases, they just don’t know how to do it.
After the identification parade is through,We can probably decide on two things.Whether your boss is a bad manager or a good one.If it is the former,Well,career coach Gordon Miller has three words for you to quick fix a bad-manager situation,: "Forget about it."
But Otherwise,the next and probably most important factor would be to empathize!!!!!Put yourself in your boss's shoes and imagine what you would've done differently in a given situation?It is neccessary of course to understand during this,that they have a boss of their own.
Whenever You think of what it is like to be a boss today, You should think of the Commodore Hotel in Beirut.This is on account of an article that came out During the Beirut Civil War.The Commodore Hotel was the hotel of choice for journalists. When you checked into the hotel they didn't ask, "Smoking or nonsmoking?" At the Commodore they asked, "Shelling side or sniper side?"
A Boss's situation is probably the same.Not making any excuses for bad bossing, but employees also need to learn to appreciate the challenges of bossing today. Like the Commodore, it's tough to boss when you're getting sniped by your employees and shelled by your own boss.
The good boss might still continue to be an oxyMORON? Born of family conditioning, Indians are generally believed to give their bosses greater leeway. Levels of respect and tolerance start high, but once they discover feet of clay, the venom can be deadly. Says Arvind Agarwal, president and CEO, group HRD, RPG group, and president of the National HR Network, “We expect too much from our bosses. When you have no hobbies and your work rules your life, the boss becomes larger than life.” (Ya Rite!)
But from a employee perspective a simple advice would be: "Don't whine to anyone about your boss; if he's that clueless, go get another.Otherwise, you're more of a chump than he is."
Statutory warning---It's quite possible the same boss awaits you in your new environment with a new name,new methods and new pay...but same nonsense!!!!
For the bosses:
BROKEN promises can be forgiven. Poor pay is endurable. Blurry career prospects can be lived with.Out of the ten compelling reasons why people quit their jobs, the reason that came out on top was — Bad Boss. Surprised? Well, if you’re not, consider this: Bad Pay trails at a distant No 10!
But in a generic term,the fundamentals of being a good boss are respectful treatment and a concern for fairness in the workplace. Not getting that is one of the most common complaints that people have about jobs, even more than pay.Today to gain control, one should first let go of it. So, if you treat your teams as equals, they'll roll their sleeves up to get the job done well for you.As Warren Bennis says:
"The imperial leader is dead as a dodo. In a complex world where nobody has all the answers, true leaders abandon their egos and thrive on the talent of their followers".
Bosses do need to be seen to be fair, but keeping up the act can be hard work. And at the end of the day, there’s still no guarantee that they’ll like you.Take an example of an executive working under an American boss in one of the world’s largest software companies. His complaint? The boss confuses him by acting like a buddy, then switching to boss mode. “Keeping track of the dividing line is tough on both of us,” he complains “I never know when a joke I made may be factored into a performance evaluation.”
Yes Boss.......Life Sucks!!!!! :-)
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