Is boss a bad word?

 Leadership is action, not position. - Donald H. McGannon

My first impression about "boss" is to recall the villains of yesteryears  from whose mouth cigaratte will be hanging, wearing a  hat and dark glasses (day or night), turning around a swivel chair with hand rests, sporting a maniacal and loud laugh, holding glass half filled liquor, surrounded by about half-a-dozen sycophants......  We call our superiors "boss," and  it became a part of the everyday English lexicon. No wonder the title sits pretty on guys who derive pleasure by causing troubles to good folks in our film stories and in our work-spots too!

This is not to hammer out that boss is always wrong, but certainly boss is not always right.

We all have started out at some level lower than what we are today in our jobs. I have been lucky to have had mostly good bosses in my working life.  If you are accustomed   to  good boss, then having a bad boss is all the more difficult to cope with.

                            

Dhoni, the Leader

Boss

                                                           

I, nevertheless, interfaced two toxic bosses. To rewind:

1) I began my career in a rurban (yes, you are right, it is semi-urban) branch of a nationalised bank. The practice in that branch is the new-comer will work beyond office hours not to just complete his day's work but also clear up the "pendings" of the other co-workers, of course without any overtime/compensation.  This will go on for six months when the probationer will be, in the normal circumstances, confirmed into the permanent services of the bank.  From then on he will walk out royally at 5 p.m., thanks to the support of the trade union/s.  But to the likes of the management, the next probationer will invariably carry on the relay.  After my confirmation, one evening during an informal chat, I curiously asked my boss(?) why they treat the probationer like a bonded labour?  Pat came the reply: "Yes, I exploit and will continue to do so, because I was exploited and have to give it back!”.

2) Mr. Harjinder Singh (name changed), the Indian boss (Branch Manager of Wealth Management Division of a local bank in Dubai), clearly did not know the meaning of “value date” in banking parlance.  Being a banker, to term his ignorance “absurd and ridiculous” is to say the least.  One fine morning   I entered his cabin with a customer account statement. A credit entry relating to a clearing cheque deposit shows the current date (date of deposit) and underneath it showed the “value date” which is date of the next working day. While he insisted that the available balance includes the cheque in question deposited on the current date, I made  valiant attempt  in vain to make him understand that it was only the ledger balance and would become the available balance only the next working day subject to clearance of the instrument. In the normal course, I would not have had any problem in making an 8th grade student to understand. But our 'hero' would not lend his ears.  There was a keen contest as to who is taller - his ego or  his ignorance.  He shouted at the top of his voice at me; "Don't teach me banking.  I have come to this seat not to learn from you!....." I remained tight-lipped and left his cabin as if I chewed a bitter pill. The beginning of the strained bond!  I survived, of course, at the expense of my next grade.

3) In another case, I have known of a guy in Dubai who complained about his boss to the top boss about some fishy transaction.  The next day, the boss called the guy and flung the e-mail printout of the complaint originally mailed by the guy to the top boss.  "You have come to this country to make money.  If you have other ideas, get ready to join your family back home!"  Of course, the guy sadly had to fly back home!

You say, “boss I think…..”  The boss quickly responds, “when I want you to think then I will tell you!” Hundreds of such true "bad boss" stories would emerge, as you discuss with any  person next to you. I leave it to your thought the kind of boss you encounter(ed) in your career.  Of course, it could be you are a giver, if not a receiver; or even, like the first case quoted above.

Having a bad boss can be a very trying event .  They come in all shapes, sizes and genders.  The worst is when your boss's insecurity gets the better of him.  The insecurity is 'justified'  when he is not hired based on merit, but on his connection (like Mr. Harjinder Singh).

Cases are aplenty where one gets frustrated after a lot of dedicated and hard work, the boss still yells at you when he feels insecure about something, with no appreciation, let alone recognition.  And promotions... again wait for another year.  Subordinates are strong only when they unite ... but then it leads to another scenario of "UNION" which is slowly fading.  It is not easy, but not impossible.

You can't control the "bad" boss behaviour but you can make it clear in a professional manner that you will not accept their bad behaviour towards you (but easily said, rarely executed).  It may be possible to remove a bad boss, but beware - your health could go for a toss, and your career goes nowhere until you get another job or a better boss. After all, the boss remembers all my bad things than the good things

Of course, you may try to help your boss to achieve his goals, understand what he/she values - like is he a paragon who has a penchant for details, showing a sense of urgency...  He is not made a reporting authority for nothing (of course, his proximity to his boss can also be due to personal or biased reasons).  He worked his way up the ladder for this privilege.  Not every human is unreasonable, only situations make him or her that way. As a subordinate, try to be proactive and address the situation. Ensure that your good work does not escape the eyes of your boss as at time one must “blow their own trumpet”.   Conversation, official and otherwise, will be artificial and absolutely against conscience.  Though outwardly I used to say "Sir, this is the best tie I have seen you wearing!", whereas inwardly I used to spit at myself feeling grossly ashamed for cheating my conscience.

Life is always not fair. If your boss is determined to screw you, anticipate it and be prepared to accept it. There is no escape. Working is a necessity and not a luxury for most of us.  With the economic volatality, jobs are not as easy as the picking, particularly wherever the 360 degree appraisal is not the in-thing.  Learning how to and how not to lead or manage is something you learn from every boss.

Is it that boss and ego are made for each other, if not synonymous?  If the boss is good, I think we should title him a leader. Can we equate boss to a politician and leader to a statesman?  And if leader is bad, call him/her "boss".  "Boss" sounds unprofessional?

To end this feedback on "boss" (which can of course always be continued tirelessly) with a joke an old colleague shared with me recently : What do bullies and sperms have in  common? They both have a one-in-a-million chance of becoming a human being.

      

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I invite your feedback to my mail id: krs1957@hotmail.com