1 thought, 1 quote, 1 tip

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

 

1 thought

I used to be a very good student. I once got this badge saying, ‘Most Disciplined Student Of The Week’ and pinned it proudly to my chest. 

But along the way, I started caring less about what my teachers, and eventually, what my bosses thought of me. I realised that it didn’t matter what they thought of me. 

What mattered was what I thought of myself. 

 

You’ve probably sat in an appraisal meeting before when your boss starts listing out all your faults. You start nodding. 

Here’s a brutal fact. 

Your boss’ role is to make the organisation happy and fulfil his/her own goals. It’s not about you.

Ouch. 

You might say, ‘No, John! That’s not true, my boss really cares about my development!’

Here's a caveat - Not all bosses are like that. Some can be disrespectful (here's how you might want to deal with them). 

Well…if he/she did, why focus so much on your negatives? Isn’t it to make you conform and comply with the organisation’s requirements? Isn’t this to satisfy the organisation? 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to tell you to flip tables, make a fuss, and quit. I’m telling you to be clear about what you are going to take, and what you are going to leave behind in your job. 

From my experience, some take their boss’ words like gold, implementing everything they say. 

 

Instead, what we should do is to filter what they say. We need to be clear about how we want to develop, and take the advice that will nurture us. 

Discard the rest. It’s toxic. 

 

1 quote

“Superbosses aren’t like most bosses; they follow a playbook all their own. They are unusually intense and passionate—eating, sleeping, and breathing their businesses and inspiring others to do the same. They look fearlessly in unusual places for talent and interview candidates in colorful ways. They create impossibly high work standards that push protégés to their limits. They engage in an almost inexplicable form of mentoring and coaching, one that occurs spontaneously with (apparently) no clear rules. 

- Sydney Finkelstein, Superbosses: How exceptional leaders master the flow of talent

 

1 tip

How do you tell if your boss has your best interests at heart? Here’s a simple heuristic.

Count the number of times he/she asks you about you. In any conversation with your boss, the moment your needs become relegated, you know that your boss isn’t particularly concerned about you.

 

In fact, the more often your boss says, ‘You must…, you shall… you need to…’, the more you know that your needs just aren’t that important to your boss. When bosses move into telling you, rather than understanding you, you know that they are keener on you being a good follower, rather than a good leader. 

You might then think: thanks for letting me know this, John…but what can I change? 

 

Lead from the bottom (here's how). I used to have a colleague who was bad at leading meetings. He would call for a meeting without an agenda, and then leave us without any clear actions moving forward. I started telling him in a respectful way about how he could improve. 

Leadership as a position uses formal authority. Rather, leadership as a choice uses the moral authority you hold. Model the change you want to see by being that change. 

 

Choose leadership. Don’t depend on position. Keep rocking the boat.