Every person has to work under some boss or other during his entire career unless he opts to do his own business, in which case the customers are his boss. The boss plays such an important role in an employees life, that his lifestyle is often influenced by the type of boss he has. And the employee’s image or opinion about the company is determined by the type of boss he works for. If the boss is good the company is good, if the boss is bad the company is bad. However great company you may work for, if you do not get along well with your boss, your life turns into a mini hell.
Let us look at some of the common type of bosses we come across in the corporate sector. Surely, you would have come across some of these personalities at some point of time or other in your career.
Does not trust anyone
These types of bosses do not trust anyone. After they tell you some work, they will ask one of your colleagues whether you have actually started it or what progress has been made. Even when you tell them that something is done, either they want to see the proof or they will confirm with someone. I wonder how they treat their family members. Do they trust them at least?
Does not Delegate
These types of bosses do not delegate works, as they fear that if they delegate, their importance will be lost and their position will be in danger. So, they try to do everything by themselves. It is the same syndrome like mother-in-law does not want to delegate the control over kitchen to the new daughter-in-law. These bosses get over stressed; they become extremely busy while their staff comparatively has a relaxed life style. And these bosses take pride and satisfaction at being busy always. What they do not realize is that unless they delegate effectively and prepare someone to take on their role, they will not be able to rise to the next level.
Does not believe
These bosses do not believe whatever you say to them. They will always question your source of knowledge as if right facts are their proprietary items. You have to discuss debate and sometimes argue with them to convince them that what you are telling is truth. However their mindset prevents them from believing anyone up front. Sometimes it is because of their superiority complex or underestimation of their staff’s collective intelligence.
Continuous follow up
These bosses keep following up with you after asking you to do something. No sooner you have left his cabin; he will call and ask you how you propose to do it. After another half an hour they will ask you progress. In this category, there are two types. One category listens to you and keeps quite, while the other type listens to you and gives you suggestions on doing the task in a manner exactly opposite of the way you have planned. They will not allow you to work in peace. Their follow up is so strong that when they are on leave, you will be lost and feel as though you are actually not working.
Indecisive
These bosses cannot take a decision. They also look confused most of the time. When you approach them with an issue, they just listen to you and then ask what you would do in this situation. After that, they will ask you to proceed the way you suggested. Whenever you ask them their opinion, they will be so ambiguous that you would regret having asked them this question. Their indecisiveness could be due to low self confidence or low self esteem. The staff working under such bosses will be always confused and unsure of the actions to be taken.
Dangerous
These bosses are very nice in front of you, but cause maximum damage behind your back. When you make a mistake, he will tell you not to worry and immediately pass on this information with special comments to HR or his boss mentioning how you have spoiled the work. It is very difficult to deal with these bosses, since you will not know about their true colors till you are stung by them.
Self-Praising
These bosses do not leave the slightest opportunity in eulogizing their past. Whenever they get an opportunity to boast about their achievements, they will do it in right earnest. You have no choice but to listen and appreciate at right intervals during the conversation, acting as if you are awestruck with the heroic acts of your boss. For better effects, you also have to sometimes question disbelievingly during the talk on whether he actually did it. And he will affirmatively respond with a big satisfying smile, making you feel that you have been blessed to hear such stories.
Meeting crazy
These bosses call for a meeting at slightest pretext. They have an urge to call a meeting of a group of people for smallest of work, and keep discussing about something or other. Mostly such bosses do the talk and others have no choice but to listen. These bosses actually reduce the efficiency of their staff, as they are busy in only attending meetings and no time for actual work. After every such meeting, he comes out of the meeting room as though he has conquered a small island off South America. It is a matter of time before the minutes of meeting are sent and the next meetings invite lands in your inbox.
Mail crazy
These bosses have a craze for mails. They do not talk to you over phone; they do not meet you either. Even when you talk to them, they ask you to send a mail on what was discussed, as if you are proposing a multi-crore property deal. These bosses get almost ‘Nirvaana’ while going through their mails every morning. More the mails, better is the start of the day. These people also get hurt if they do not receive mails for a few minutes during the day. They keep looking at the inbox as though the next mail expected is a notification of winning a lottery ticket.
Blaming type
These bosses wait for something to go wrong and immediately say, “I told you earlier...” They will not contribute in a significant way while the job was being carried out, but once something happens, they will be quick to point out that they never liked the way it was happening and even had warned all about the consequences. They have an uncanny ability to fix the responsibility on someone or other for every little fault. You can never expect them to say, “Sorry, I miscalculated it, or I did not know...”
Management fearing
These bosses are so much afraid of the management that they are very careful while talking anything negative about the company. They lower their tone, close the door of cabin and whisper to you that they do not truly approve of the company’s policies. They get scared whenever they get a call from his boss’s office. Every time they walk to their boss’s office, they walk as though they are soon going to be hanged and there is no chance of escape. Whenever they assign a task to you, they will emphasize that this task is monitored and followed up by so and so, as though without this piece of information, you will show laxity in doing this work and may not do it correctly. Their blood pressure shoots up before every senior management meeting, as though the sole agenda for that meeting is his performance.
Excessive sense of humor
These bosses have a sense of humor to an irritating degree. During a serious meeting, suddenly he remembers a joke and has a strong urge to share it with all. So, he start telling a joke, when all subordinates keep wondering about the seriousness of the issue. No matter what crisis exists, these people’s mind always tries to correlate it to some comic incident and blurt it out. These people will have normal BP, but those around them are most likely to have high BP.
No sense of humor
These bosses laugh once in a year. They behave as though laughing is a crime. Their face is always serious and worried, as though they have been assigned the sole responsibility of rescuing America from ongoing financial crisis. Whenever you tell them a joke, they look at you as though you told them a profound truth. You have to often tell them that the joke is over and now he may use his discretion whether to laugh or not, based on deemed merit of the joke in his opinion. You do not have the luxury to laugh openly in their presence, as it will be assumed to disrespect and also violation of basic decency norms. Such people live in misery and make other’s lives miserable as well.
Keeps repeating
These bosses tell you a task at least four times. They have a strong feeling that communication is not complete unless repeated three to four times. They assume that you have not paid attention when they told you first time, you did not understand when they told second time, they did not tell properly third time.. And so on. So, till they get satisfied that you have no more doubts left, they keep repeating. Often, you tend to repeat it along with him after third time, just to give him confidence that you have understood what he wanted to say. And when you do so, the pleasure he has on his face to get evidence that you have understood is enormous.
There are as many personalities as there are people. Each one has his own characteristics and way of behavior. There is no attempt made here to define which one is correct or which is wrong. Because, each one is correct in his belief and ideas. Life is adjusting with each type of person you come across. Many times you have to adapt to the other person’s ideas in order to get the work done depending on his position of power in the organization.
The final truth is that…. you may choose everything, but you cannot choose your boss.
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