Choose Your Boss, Not Your Job

Hmm… Something to ponder over. Probably, the next time you are job hunting; it will be a good idea to maybe observe the person sitting on the other end of the table interviewing you a little closer, idea is to concentrate on the prospective job in hand but to concentrate more on the person who might end up offering it to you.

This can be challenging because the process we incorporate to find meaningful work is designed to work just the opposite way; the boss picks you. More often than not, you only talk to your boss during the interview process, which is a poor predictor of what he/she will actually be like. By focusing on who your boss will be above most other criteria (e.g. total compensation, responsibility, advancement opportunities, location) changes how you pursue jobs and how happy you’ll be once you select one.

A good boss in a mediocre company

will support you;

appreciate your potential and would probably try and look for means and ways to appoint you at an apt position knowing your forte.

A bad boss in a good company

will frustrate you;

demoralize you and would probably find faults in your strengths and failures in your expertise. This can be a major setback for your overall confidence given you are as good as your last appraisal and who decides whether you are a great performer or just getting by when it comes to your work, YOUR BOSS!

A good boss in a good company will unlock your potential.

Traits of a good boss:

drives retention, delegates authority, trustworthy, transformational leader, cares about his/her employees and their opinions, consistent in decision-making, a good listener, and shows empathy.

Traits of a bad boss:

micromanages others and processes, instills fear, authoritarian leader, interested in being right, inconsistent in decision-making and is cold/self-focused or focused only on the turnovers. In short Quantity over Quality.

So, how do you find a good boss? First and foremost, understand yourself. Have you established your personal intention? If so, what is your ambition statement (what you need to achieve in the next 3 – 5 years)? By determining a clear path for what you want to achieve, you can conduct a gap analysis of your skills and better determine how a particular boss can coach and mentor you to your goals. While you analyse on how you can align with a good boss, it’s imperative that you have it in you too, the qualities to seek a good boss, the first one that should be high up on your list is Integrity, do you have it in you to keep going and be there for your Boss even when the balance sheets don’t show fireworks, secondly, Efficient & Adept, how efficient are you, do you simply do your job and go home waiting for the salary cheque at the end of the week/month or do you genuinely care about growing with the firm.

All said and done, you cannot pick a Boss, it comes with the territory, idea is to work closely with your superior; try and imbibe the qualities you think is fitting for you that can go a long way to your way to success. However, there is no one way to do that, you learn via trial and error, given you can never choose a boss no matter how keen you are to work with the person that took your final interview, you will only get to have that Boss who really inspired you in a long time if you land the job and other factors align with taking up the role and finally join the Company. Not an easy chart, but opportunities do have a strange way of presenting themselves, grabbing it at the right time is up to you. By strengthening relationships with professionals in your field, maintaining a solid networking and keeping all your communication lines open are key to your career growth, it will not only inspire you from time to time but aspire you to become and reach your full potential.

In the words of famous American Author

, Kenneth Hartley Blanchard: He isn’t a real boss until he has trained subordinates to shoulder most of his responsibilities..