My boss sucks!!! whose doesn’t? But why is it effecting you is what you need to understand. It is aptly said that people leave people and not organisations. I agree, but then will the general mindset of people be different in the new organisation that you join or it will be a cycle through which you would keep rushing by—- changing a job every year or two!!! this is what you need to decide.
Boss/supervisor/superior/manager… people who carry the weight of these words on their shoulders get typecasted by the virtue of the authority they command. These people are higher on the totem pole so they have a higher accountability to the management. Additionally they are dependent on you for carrying out a task and if you do not deliver they get chastised for your incompetence. So what do these people do:
- They spell out what they want along with an inbuilt buffer so they can manage in case you ditch them.
- They practice compartmentalisation so you can concentrate on your part of the job.
- Shield and protect you from the pressure exerted by the senior management by acting as a go between.
- Follow the carrot and stick route to motivate/reprimand you as per the circumstances….
Sounds familiar? isn’t these the things that you also do with your reportees? Face it, getting quality, accurate and timely work done by someone is tough. So while judging your superior try and gauge him/her on the following parameters:
- Does my boss have thought clarity of the work to be done?
- Does my boss play fair in terms of giving me due credit?
- Does my boss stand up for me when I make a mistake?
- Does my boss has the skill set that I aspire to have?
If you answer yes to even one of the questions, then your boss is worth investing into. Learn from your superior’s experience and skill sets and avoid petty things like the way he dresses, talks, treats people (provided he is not obnoxious), gets angry, demands extra hours, gets rude ……. These are small things and can be worked out by communicating with your superior, if you feel that you are being unduly chastised in front of the team, ask for your superior’s time and discuss with him/her. In all possibilities, things would improve and if they don’t… well the boss is always right but you necessarily may not like him, so pull along if it helps you augment your skillsets, if not, well you are not married to your boss or your organisation… or are you???? 
