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Monika Kosiedowska Types of Bosses

A Polish proverb says: appreciate your boss, you can always have a worse one. There is a lot of truth in this saying since your job performancejob performancejob performance and, most of all, your job satisfaction largely depend on your boss’s character. The interdependenceinterdependenceinterdependence between good employee‑management relations and general job satisfaction has been scientifically proven and is sometimes called ‘the boss factor’. An inspiringinspiringinspiring boss will bring out all your talents and skills and make you excel in your job. As Orrin Woodward, an American writer and entrepreneur, said, ‘average leaders raise the barraise the barraise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.’ Instead, an arrogantarrogantarrogant boss will probably make your job experience miserable. Nobody is perfect. Who would like to work under a person that cannot see their own flawsflaws [flaw]flaws but is always eager to point out others’ faultspoint out others' faults [point out somebody’s fault]point out others’ faults?

To be frank, there is no universal type of a perfect boss. Ask yourself a question: what kind of supervisorsupervisorsupervisor would you prefer: a  lenientlenient lenient or a  strictstrictstrict one? Both types have their pros and cons. LeniencyleniencyLeniency of a boss usually leaves it up to you to determine your goals and prioritiesdetermine your goals and priorities [determine one’s goal and priority]determine your goals and priorities. If you are able to self‑discipline and self‑organise at work, an indulgentindulgentindulgent boss is your kind of a boss. But some people, especially those who are at the start of their careers, might simply need someone to point out to them what to do next, and a demandingdemandingdemanding employer motivates them to learn. Probably the thing that makes a good leader is a mixture of leniency and strictnessstrictness strictness.

Should a  criticalcritical critical person be considered a bad boss? Not necessarily. There is a huge difference between fair criticismcriticismcriticism and unjustified nitpickingnitpickingnitpicking. A critical boss whose feedbackfeedbackfeedback lets you improve your job performance may not be so bad as long as he or she does not become judgementaljudgementaljudgemental. On the other hand,criticism should always be accompanied by appreciationappreciationappreciation. An appreciativeappreciative appreciative manager knows that a job well done needs to be praised and does not hesitate to commendcommendcommend his or her subordinatessubordinates [subordinate]subordinates.

There are, however, types of bosses that nobody would like to work under. A domineeringdomineering domineering chief who tyrannisestyrannises [tyrannise]tyrannises or simply bullies his or her employees is definitely one of that kind. This type of boss is always trying to dominatedominatedominate the work environment and be in its centre, and might easily become bossybossybossy which may lead straight to mobbingmobbingmobbing. The opposite would be a  cooperativecooperative cooperative boss who views his or her role not only as a supervisor but also as a person whose job is to cooperatecooperatecooperate with and help his staff succeed. There is even a philosophy of the so‑called ‘servant leadership’, which is based on premisepremisepremise that a leader should put the needs of the employees first and focus on helping them develop and perform at a maximum level. Perhaps, this is what makes a true leader out of a common boss – the ability to put aside their own ambitions for the sake of team success.

1 Źródło: Monika Kosiedowska, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.