The BOSS OF ME blog

With a few hit blog posts under my belt, I swaggered out into new avenues of research and stumbled in front of the proverbial bus. You know the one; the crazy ass bus that is trying to take out unsuspecting employees every chance it gets. As I am now the boss of me, I thought I should figure out what it takes to be a good one: hell, maybe even a great one! I began researching characteristics of good bosses and the bus scenario came up a lot. Having some time on my hands, I started thinking:

• Who is driving the bus and why are they trying to run everyone over?
• Why do bad bosses throw you under the bus and did they pay off the driver to ensure that it swerves in your direction?
• Why do good bosses pull you out of the way, try to stop the bus, and take the hit if all else fails?

One writer suggested that sometimes you don’t even know a bus was trying to hit you; your boss is that good!

Who’s driving the bus and why is it running people over?

Ideally, you work at an organization that doesn’t consume itself by assigning blame when things don’t go as planned. Hopefully, the crazy ass bus isn’t even on your route, or if it is, you have a boss willing to stand in front of it. When your team lacks direction and focus, you end up with employees running around in traffic just asking to be hit. When they’re not constantly looking over their shoulder for a runaway bus, employees are better engaged and motivated to achieve the collective company goals and objectives and spend less time struggling to defend and align approaches or ways of thinking. Chances are you don’t work in such a magical place. You probably work near a bus-driver training centre with crazy ass buses all over the place. You’re going to need a bus-taking boss.

How do I find a bus-taking boss?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this concept applies to a good boss. As individuals, our core drivers and values change at different points in life so how can a list of characteristics determine what makes a good boss? Most people in leadership roles today attend some sort of training and can list off some of the characteristics of a good boss such as honesty, integrity, inspiration, supportiveness, and strong communication skills, blah, blah, blah; however none of it matters if they don’t give a shit about you, and whether they give a shit or not, lies with you. Early in my career, I learned that the most important factor for my happiness and success at work was having a great boss. My definition of a great boss is a leader I respect and who genuinely cares about me and my career. I am very fortunate to have worked for a few fabulous bosses over the years, but not everyone I worked with would say they had the same experience with the very same bosses – and this is how it should be. People relate to people, not to job roles, functions or titles. That’s just how it is. This isn’t to say that you need to be best friends with your boss, or even like them, you just need to respect them. If you don’t respect your boss, chances are they don’t think much of you either, or worse yet, they don’t think of you at all. If you respect your boss and work to develop a professional relationship with them, you’re more likely to be successful in your role. Your boss is not responsible for your overall happiness at work and neither is your company. You are. You expect them to take a bus for you after all, so you need to do your part.

How do I do my part?

Start with avoiding bad bosses. Bad bosses throw you under the bus because they don’t give a shit about you. They thrive in organizations that lack accountability and cultivate a culture of blame. Bad bosses put their needs ahead of yours in situations where a scapegoat is called for – and sometimes even when one isn’t. They may be insecure, incompetent, or lack integrity. Whatever their issues may be, they preserve themselves above all others. Try to avoid these jackasses whenever possible. Next, define what attributes you look for in a good boss and practice them yourself. Establishing trust, fostering open communication, and ensuring accountability are all ways I work to develop a professional relationship with my boss. However you do it, recognize that it’s important. You need your boss to care about you, so you need to care too.

Not following? Me neither.

If you don’t have a good boss, try to find one, it’s important. If you have one, appreciate them. If you are a boss, try to be a good one; at least to somebody. At the very least, spend some time thinking about your definition of a good boss so you’ll know what one looks like. If you don’t have a job and a boss that comes with it, you too have time to think about what you want. Many of us are out of work right now, but things will turn around. When they do, the key to your happiness at work lies with you working for someone who genuinely cares about you. You need someone who will stand between you and the crazy ass bus because according to my research, it’s definitely coming for you. 

What if I’m the boss of me?

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to work hard to become a great boss. Hell, I think I’ll tell myself to go take a nap! Wow! This boss stuff is super easy. I respect myself, care about myself a ton and I certainly care about my career! Wait, maybe napping isn’t in the best interest of my career development. How about we explore more work-related topics for our next blog post? Or perhaps I’ll try to catch a ride on that crazy ass bus, hang my head out of the window, and keep an eye out for shitty bosses. I’ll let you know if I find out who’s driving.

THE END

Motivational caption of the day: “Pedal to the metal and going for broke.”