I was a business director in a mid-size company that specialized in business-to-business marketing communications and learning. When I started there I was warned by several people that my boss, the VP of the organization, was going through a mid-life crisis. I thought, big deal, how bad could it be?
Needless to say, I knew after my first two months I would only be there for a year. Well, during my time there the business started to take a turn for the worse. Clients were reluctant to commit to any long-term projects and the VP and the President, when they were getting along and talking to each other, were focused on selling the company. As the months went by, my “bad boss” became progressively more outrageous in his behavior and treatment of the employees. The usual talking down to employees, arguing and fighting, caused many talented people to leave, and who could blame them?
Yes, this boss was very challenging to work for, and certainly didn’t have the respect of the employees or clients. But wait, there is a positive aspect of this situation – and I am not talking about the “glass being half full” thinking. I am talking about how working for someone like this can actually make you a better professional.
Here are some of the lessons I learned from my “bad boss”
Be prepared
When you are reporting to a boss such as that one, you can never be too prepared for any interaction. I learned the importance of clarifying goals and objectives often, along with anticipating and preparing for any problems or reactions that might occur.
Bad boss lesson: Being very prepared goes a long way to elevating anyone’s performance.
Ensure great execution
Committing and sticking to an agreed upon plan of action is important, and sure, you might have to adjust the plan along the way – that’s to be expected. My “bad boss” was great at talking about high-level strategy and coming up with new strategies every hour. This caused people to be spread too thin and not perform at their best.
Bad boss lesson: You only need a good strategy to accomplish any goal. Great execution is everything.
Take things day by day
Along with over-strategizing, my “bad boss” would keep thinking too far into the future – about what he was going to do with all the money he was going to make from the sale of the company. Projecting and not being present made him blind to any insights and suggestions I was bringing to his attention about his underperforming business and the opportunities that were right in front of us.
Bad boss lesson: It’s critical to be focused on the day-to-day actions and the progress the actual employees are making. Sure, it’s good to have long-term goals, however, success and daily enjoyment of work comes from the daily activities.
These are just a few great performance lessons I learned while working for a “bad boss”. I stayed at that company for 18 months. When the dust settled, the company went under, however, everyone who stuck around went on to different companies and became better employees, managers and leaders as a result of having to work for a “bad boss”.
All the best in achieving your highest performance.
Paul
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