7 types of the bosses

It's commonly known that no matter how much you enjoy performing the functions of your job, it's the co-workers that have the power to make or break the whole experience for you. And it's none other than your boss, director, supervisor or manager who has the greatest sway over your day-to-day experience. A good boss can make work an absolute pleasure to go to. But bosses are humans like the rest of us, and some of them have glaring flaws. Still, they must be "better" than you in some way to be in a superior position, right? RIGHT?!? Not always.

7 The Insecure Boss  : This one flexes their authoritative muscles just to do it, like a child saying "Look at me, mommy. I hate you!" The insecure boss overcompensates by pretending they have supreme confidence in themselves. They can do no wrong, because that would mean that their inner suspicions about their own incompetence are correct.

6 The Paranoid Boss : Work paranoia can mentally cripple a person. So, guess what happens when your boss thinks their job performance is in question or that they're in jeopardy of being fired? You are the one that feels the brunt of it. Special projects will come up that are meant to show off to their superiors and forget about double checking, you're gonna have to start triple checking. Worst of all,
this boss will always have ways to cover their own ass, but not yours if the shit hits the fan. 

 
5 The Boss Who Takes It Out on Everyone Else Some bosses cannot suffer any injustice, no matter how small, at work without pushing it on his or her employees in some way. Sometimes they'll even bring baggage from their personal lives. Steer clear of this one as much as you possibly can. If
that doesn't work, then try buttering them up from time to time with rum cake, hot toddies or penne a la vodka. 

 
4 The Shit Rolls Downhill Boss : When in a good mood, this boss may speak to and treat you with respect and maybe even pull their own weight. But this is contingent on how they are being treated or what their workload is like. When something "comes down" from corporate or from their
boss, the extra work and stress is passed directly down to you. And hey, isn't that what being a boss is all about?

3 The Boss Who Has Checked Out:  Some people just don't give a sweet damn about their job. If the person in question is one that has authority, then this can mean big problems for their lowly underlings. Because you can bet your ass that they will do as little work as possible while taking as much credit as possible. So, why should someone who doesn't care get paid more and have a more impressive title than you? Logic's got nothing to do with it. 

2 The Bitter Boss : This is the boss that hates the job, hates the company and hates themselves. No one wants to spend time around someone with so much negative energy, let alone be under their tyrannical rule. This person also loves to poison the well, tainting views about other employees, departments and/or the practices of the company itself.

1 The One You Could Do Better Than:  Some bosses are good people managers but lack strategy, leadership and skills for success. You may not have any ill-will toward them, but there's always that frustrating envy of knowing that you could achieve goals that they never could. Its a
classic exit strategy in the making. 

Are you tough?

 By Vinod Bidwaik

 

“You should be tough, ruthless and very assertive when you are in business. If managers are not tough, then their subordinate will not be tough and it is very difficult to sustain in the competitive world.” So-called tough manager was preaching the junior managers in the meeting. He then declared that there would be one sharing session where all managers would share their experiences on how they were tough in their personal life. It was year 2008. The indications of slow down were prominent. The business was down. All new projects and businesses were not doing well. The reasons for the failure were different, but the slowdown was the opportunity to conceal their failure.

“You should be empathetic with people.” Was his another preaching topic. He read it somewhere about empathy and started to preach people. If you are empathetic, you can achieve desired results. However he was literally spoiling the career of good employees by doing experiments about their profiles.

“There is a clause of termination in appointment letter, one month notice period. Ask employees to resign without any severance packages. You do not have any obligations. You should be empathetic; still you should be tough and ruthless.” He ordered in another meeting.  

Empathy means understanding other’s feeling, putting yourself in their shoes and deciding your strategy to deal with them.  Excellent fundamental! I personally use this tactic while dealing with different people.

CEO of the company decided to close one office at one location. So- called tough and empathetic manager was given the responsibility of this project. But this whole project was handled very unprofessionally where high profile and critical talent were treated like a contract and casual workmen. They started agitation against the management. The matter was referred to media and political leaders including ministers. Adverse reports and comments spoiled the reputation of the company.  CEO had to take the control of the situation to salvage where management had to agree to pay them heavy severance package.  

So-called empathic and tough manager failed in his strategies. He actually did not know the real meaning of empathy. He tried to be tough; but at wrong situation with wrong people.

After some days, management decided to be tough with him without being empathetic.

Being tough does not mean you miss the human dimension. Good companies focus log term goals. The hiring of talent is supposed to be for achieving long term goals. Good companies touch the talent cost at last when all the resorts fail; however bad companies focus cost reduction by reducing the talent at first site. You can be tough with situation. You also can be tough with people but before that you also need to understand the consequences and your capability to handle the consequences. 

Forgive your boss. Here is how and why...

By Sunayna Navani

Most of you might want to read this post just for curiosity. :) Y  is this  crazy lady asking us to forgive our boss??? 

 Some lucky ones might not feel the need coz they have excellent bosses.  Some must be so filled with anger that forgiveness is so out of the question, that they might not even read it. I hope curiosity brings the  ones who really need to hear this, here. Well, whoever you are, hope you  are able to lead a better life after reading this. Stories are always welcome, Infact, I love listening to it. So pls do share. Also, feel free  to share this post with people u know will need to read.
 

Boss - A mysterious creature, ain't he? For many, it is possible that he is the same guy whom they shared lunch with, but now, make faces when he enters on your lunch time. The picture just says it all. 

Bosses truly don't know what to with the power they have been given. Most are forced leader. I have a true story to  share.

Just few months back, I had a handwriting sample for a Pre Employment scan .  It was for some senior position in the company that wanted to hire him, I had not been given any other specifics about function to check, it was just a simple analysis. I sent the report and I got a call back asking how is  this guy not a good leader. I was taken aback. I didn't know how to  explain. I told them that as per his handwriting, though he is very  straight forward, simple, fast thinker and hardworking. The following were  my additional exact comments - Balanced individual. Clean heart and hence
> slightly short tempered. Also if time taken to analyse handwriting can be  considered as the time to judge the individual, then this analysis took me  half the time as the first one. I am guessing he will come with no  pretenses and will be able to judge and analyse. But am sorry that he is not a good leader."He is very highly recommended and He is currently  the AGM, He is to be hired for Head position, and he has a flawless track  record. How can he not be a good leader" was the reply. I told them that he isn't. Please check on him. Was he forced to a leadership position? Did he have to struggle a lot in the start? now, does  he treat himself as a leader or just like a captain? He has a lot of good qualities like being straight but also kind and he is hardworking so his  subordinates will learn a lot. This could make him a good person to be in charge of that position, Also, his stress management skills are high, so it  has taken him time to be in charge of that position and lead but he is not  a very good leader intrinsically and takes some time to adjust to new  situations, but will do well.

They didn't get back to me for sometime, but when they did, I was told that it  is very much possible that he was forced into a leadership position. NOW,  Think about your boss. Does he have good leadership skills? Probably no, because you are reading this article.What exactly is a leader? As per graphology, he is someone who has vision, thinks big and is not good with getting in the small details but would very well want you to do it. He has  a slightly inflated ego that needs little bit of air every now and then. But  at the end of the day, he is a human being just like you.*He too has his boss to report to. Maybe even worse at managing self than your boss is.  Possible na? He is not a good boss because he is not good at managing his  self. BUT just because he is not good at managing his self, doesn't mean that you should too? Forgive him.

 There is just no point in spoiling your mood because of him. *Worrying they say is a waste of imagination. *So, All you lovely people and my friend PJ, don't waste a single moment in sadness because of your boss. Smile and chill. Forgive him for not being a good boss. At the same time, learn from his mistakes and 

*promise yourself that you will be a lot better boss*.

Good luck.

Keep smiling.
Keep learning.
Keep Growing!  

5 Ways to Spot a Bad Boss In An Interview.

By Stephanie Taylor  Christensen, Contributor 

A boss can literally, make or break your career. Here are five ways to spot the bad ones before they become yours.

A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep you out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths. But a bad boss can make the most impressive job on paper (and salary) quickly unbearable. Not only will a bad boss make you dislike at least 80% of your week, your relationships might suffer, too. A recent study conducted at Baylor University found that stress and tension caused by an abusive boss “affects the marital relationship and subsequently, the employee’s entire family.” Supervisor abuse isn’t always as blatant as a screaming temper tantrum; it can include taking personal anger out on you for no reason, dismissing your ideas in a meeting, or simply, being rude and critical of your work, while offering no constructive ways to improve it.  Whatever  the exhibition of bad boss behavior, your work and personal life will suffer. Merideth Ferguson, PH.D., co-author of the study and assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Baylor explains that “it may be that as supervisor abuse heightens tension in the relationship, the employee is less motivated or able to engage in positive interactions with the partner and other family members.” 

There are many ways to try and combat the effects of a bad boss, including confronting him or her directly to work towards a productive solution, suggesting that you report to another supervisor, or soliciting the help of  human resources.  But none of those tactics guarantee improvement, and quite often, they’ll lead to more stress. The best solution is to spot a bad boss—before they become yours! Here are five ways to tell whether your interviewer is a future bad boss. Move up Move down  

1. Pronoun usage. Performance consultant John Brubaker says that the top verbal tell a boss can gives is in pronoun choice and the context it is used. If your interviewer uses the term “you” in communicating negative information ( such as, “you will deal with a lot of ambiguity”), don’t expect the boss to be a mentor.  If the boss chooses the word “I” to describe the department’s success—that’s a red flag.  If the interviewer says “we” in regards to a particular challenge the team or company faced, it may indicate that he or she deflects responsibility and places blame.

2. Concern with your hobbies. There is a fine line between genuine relationship building, and fishing for information, so use your discretion on this one. If you have an overall good impression of the potential
boss it may be that he or she is truly interested in the fact that you are heavily involved in charity work, and is simply getting to know you. On the other hand, the interviewer may be trying to determine whether you have too many commitments outside of work. The interviewer can’t legally ask if you are
married, or have kids, so digging into your personal life can be a clever way to understand just how available you are.

3. They’re distracted. The era of email, Blackberries and smart phones have made it “okay” for people to develop disrespectful communication habits in the name of work. Particularly in a frenzied workplace,
reading email while a person is speaking, multi-tasking on conference calls and checking the message behind that blinking Blackberry mid-conversation has become the norm of business communications. But, regardless of his or her role in the company, the interviewer should be striving to make a good impression—which includes shutting down tech tools to give you undivided attention. If your interviewer is glancing at emails while you’re speaking, taking phone calls, or late to the interview, don’t expect a boss who will make time for you.

4. They can’t give you a straight answer. Caren Goldberg, Ph.D. is an HR professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University. She says a key “tell” is vague answers to your questions. Listen for pauses, awkwardness, or overly-generic responses when you inquire what happened to the person who
held the position you are interviewing for, and/or what has created the need to hire. (For example, if you are told the person was a “bad fit,” it may indicate that the workplace doesn’t spend much time on employee-development, and blames them when things don’t work out). You should also question turnover rates, how long people stay in given roles, and what their career path has been. All of these answers can indicate not only if the boss is one people want to work for, but whether pay is competitive, and employees are given a career growth plan.

5. They’ve got a record. Ask the potential boss how long he or she has been at the company, in the role, and where he or she worked before coming to it to get a feel for his or management style, and whether it’s what you respond to.  For example, bosses making a switch from a large corporation to a small company may lead with formality. On the other hand, entrepreneurs tend to be passionately involved in business, which can be a help or a hindrance, depending on your work style.