Good bosses teach us "WHAT TO DO" and not so good bosses teach us "WHAT NOT TO DO"

It’s often easy to fall into the trap of labeling people, specially your bosses as not good and blaming them for everything. Saying “my Manager really sucks” may relieve tension and give air to your accumulated frustration, but it’s not going to improve your working conditions. 

Remember that Managers are just people and all people are better at some things than at others. When you are working for someone else, good or bad, it pays to spend some time evaluating what their strengths and weaknesses are. The more time you spend in looking out for their strengths and the less time you spend in figuring out their weaknesses, the less frustrated you will be. I do understand that it is easier said than done, however, I am not sure boss bashing will help in any way expanding our career or in optimum utilization of our time.

While we hire managers to help employee set up for success and help convert our 'C' Players into 'B' Players and 'B' Player in to 'A' players, however, in some managers, we find lack of sincerity and genuineness in approach and they are more focused in solidifying their turf and their career, oblivious of the fact that these are the very subordinates who will take them up. I would suggest that we should tune ourselves to TAKE CHARGE OF OUR OWN DESTINY.

Many supervisors are promoted to managerial position because of their operating excellence and technical skills rather than an ability to manage people. Being promoted to supervisor is often seen as a reward for someone who has done well. Following pointers will help first time managers hone their managerial skills.

Observe good bosses - spend time noticing what successful managers in your organization do differently from other managers. In particular, notice the way successful managers communicate with the people who report to them.

Communicate expectations but avoid micromanaging - you will probably notice that good managers communicate expectations clearly. They tell employees the results they expect and give them the freedom to leverage / build on their expertize.

Give positive feedback - successful managers make efforts to catch employee doing the right things and give them immediate recognition for doing a good job. A simple mantra works here – reward good performers/performance in public and reprimand unacceptable behavior in private. This is what generally most supervisors overlook.

Find a mentor - when you find managers in your organization who are doing things right, consider asking one of those successful managers to mentor you. A mentor meets with you at scheduled times to discuss your challenges and offer desired advices.

Continue to develop your management skills - take advantage of company sponsored management training programs or take classes on your own.

The whole essence of the above penned down thoughts is that bad bosses really teach you as good as good ones as they will make you observe what not to do. So in a way it prepares you for your own unique style of supervision while discounting the characteristics of not so good bosses . 

Don’t get jittery with bad managers, rather take the most important learning's out of them and move on!! In the current dynamic context, we will come across multiple bosses and we must be thankful irrespective of their being good or bad as both plays a role in setting us up for success - Good bosses teaches us "WHAT TO DO" and not so good bosses teaches us "WHAT NOT TO DO".