Who's the Boss?

Over my eight years of working in corporates I have had the pleasure of working with a variety of people and a number of bosses. Luckily for me most of them were genuinely nice people who were concerned about the well-being and growth of their team but some of them were a little less than nice and there are reasons or instances due to which they left a special signature on the pages of my corporate life diary. I am sure you came across some of them too or are yet to come across some of them if you happen to embark on a corporate journey. Here are a few categories I could think of:

The Gyani Baba: In a way, they are the corporate mini version of Baba Ramdev. They love the sound of their own voices. They are full of stories from their hay days on the ‘front’, love to show off their 'battle scars' and share their ‘stories’. They are sometimes interesting to listen to but when their stories get repeated the subordinates are nodding just to win some brownie points. They have an air of pride around them and demand respect. They may be great to listen to at the forty thousand feet level or more when they try to give you ‘strategic’ advice and share some 'thought capital', but when you come back to your desk, you are as clueless as you were before you decided to speak to them. Or worse, you get more confused than you ever were.

The Dictator: This type of boss is the hard task master and a nightmare to work with. They believe that a dedicated worker is the one that spends long hours in office, and likes to get his subordinates to do and re-do tasks till they are brain dead. They are aiming for perfection and in the process don’t mind their subordinates burning the midnight oil and themselves in the process. If their final deliverable is good or they are skilled at managing their stakeholders, then they are considered to be the best kind of managers by the leadership. They are hated by their juniors, but alas, you don’t get to choose your boss and if they give you a good rating, you forgive them too.

The Empty Vessel: This is the funniest type of boss I have come across. They have no in-depth knowledge and more often their juniors know better than them and that makes them insecure and act out in ways that can only make the situation worse for them. They like to pretend that they are knowledgeable but in reality they just try to use a few jargons to sound intelligent. These empty vessels make a LOT of noise.

The Devil: A lethal combination of the Dictator and an Empty Vessel is the worst you can have. They are indeed the Devil incarnate (remember "The Devil wears Prada"?). They do not like any viewpoint other than their own, imprison your freedom, stifle your creativity and make you update your CV on job sites. You learn over time that any discussion with them is a waste of time. Worst is when they lack basic etiquette and feel that their subordinates should be treated like slaves and not intelligible human beings who are capable of great work with the right kind of guidance and encouragement.

The Meethi Churi: They are the bosses that seem to be nice on the surface, they are the sweet talkers and often the ‘people’s person’ and very well networked, but the danger with such bosses is that you don’t get to know when they are going to screw up your rating or take away some credit that is due to you. They are not genuinely concerned about their team, but are looking to get under the leadership limelight. Underneath that  pleasant mask is a sharp toothed shark. Watch out, before they bite!

God forbid if your boss happens to be some weird combination of the above!

I know, you are remembering a few names and smiling! Have a good weekend! Or whatever your boss lets you have. ;-)

Cheers to Corporate Life!

You may also enjoy reading a similar post on The Corporate Life! Please do let me know if you have had the privilege of some other distinct species of bosses.