Good Lessons From Bad Bosses
Posted on March 2, 2008 - Filed Under Self Improvement
Today, among the myriads of workplace troubles having a bad boss is probably the worst that can happen to an employee. Of course, the definition of a bad boss is a vague and subjective term that can be debated to eternity depending on whose side you lean on an issue. And typical textbook definitions of a bad boss is one who screams, threatens, intimidates, disrespects, grabs credit, fires people, throttles people’s necks and so on.
Bad bosses exist in all organizations. In fact, the more competitive the organization, the more you see and hear stories about such people. Nobody likes working for a bad boss and most would gladly jump ship at the first chance of escape, even if they are passionate about their work. Long ago a classmate of mine quit an extremely reputed scientific institute unable to work for a toxic chemistry professor, though he was ready to sacrifice an arm and a leg for chemistry. Nevertheless, apart from a generous dose of ulcers, gloominess and some hair loss due to a bad boss, there are ways to turn this situation into your advantage.
Every great philosopher and guru throughout the centuries has preached the importance of transforming everything, good or bad, in life to your advantage and make yourself tougher, bolder and more resilient. Understandably, most people are normally unaware of how they can actually gain valuable lessons from the idiosyncrasies of a bad boss. But it is quite easy if you learn to look at it in a peculiar way. Instead of craving for a pleasant workplace everyday think unconventionally, and start imagining it as a training institute to learn some exciting lessons in behavioral psychology. So until you can escape to a better workplace, or until the bad boss self-destructs you can continuously imbibe several valuable lessons. A few ones are mentioned below.
1. A bad boss can be a walking textbook on behavioral psychology. Working with a bad boss is your golden chance to learn the “do’s and don’ts” of management. In all probability you can learn more about people management working with a bad boss in six months time, than working with a good boss for five years.
2. Bad bosses help you learn harsh realities of human nature and make you better prepared in life’s countless encounters. You swim better when you learn it in a rough river or sea, rather than in a calm swimming pool.
3. Every rude remark, a nasty encounter, every growl, a goof up, a threat, a cover up, etc., can be a good lesson that is going to pay rich dividends to you at a later stage. They help you become a better manager at a later stage, because you will have a rich experience in the pitfalls of bad management. It helps you to instantly remember and avoid the wrong things when faced with similar or equivalent situations. For example, it may help you remember that it is not a good idea to throw a paperweight on an employee who is a member of the local trade union. 
4. And bad bosses help you in many other ways if you study their lives carefully. For example, it will help you understand how and why many employees erupt like a volcano at home due to work related problems.
5. Worldwide many people have become great leaders only by surviving extreme forms of harassment by someone.
And we can conclude this article with a great Chinese proverb that says, “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”
Thejendra BS is an IT manager & consultant for a software development firm in Bangalore, India. Starting as a field engineer in the previous century, he has 17+ years experience in a variety of IT roles like Support, Helpdesk, DRP-BCP, Asset Management, IT Security, etc., and has worked in India, Middle East, Singapore and Australia. In addition, he also writes humor, technical and serious management topics, and strongly believes humor is the most powerful of all leadership styles. His articles have appeared on reputed websites like geekleaders.com, cio.com, drj.com, sourcingmag.com and many ezines. Visit http://www.thejendra.com for his unique articles and books. Contact the author on thejendra@yahoo.com
Tags: bosses, thejendra, workplace
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