A workplace can feel like heaven or a daily survival game depending on
who your boss
is. A good boss makes work enjoyable, while a bad boss can turn even the simplest task into a dramatic adventure
It is very important to have good bosses at the start
of your professional career. If not, you are in trouble. As it happened to my
colleague in Clarion McCann, where I started my advertising career in
1964. Deepak (name changed) also joined the company as a management trainee three
years after I joined thecompany. A young man with a brilliant academic record
and with bright prospects in advertising, he was expected to do well in
his job and get quick promotions. Unfortunately, the first boss he worked
for was a disaster. A middle-aged executive, deeply insecure, indecisive,
and arrogant, made the life of the young Deepak miserable. He became a nervous
wreck because of the ill treatment he received from his first boss. A change of
boss, who was more encouraging, brought out his capabilities and earned him his
first promotion, though he had lost two years under a bad boss.
I was very lucky that I had a good boss, even before I
joined the advertising profession. I can never forget Mr M.R.Pai,
Secretary of Forum of Free Enterprise, where I worked for one year as a
Trainee, while pursuing a PG Diploma course in
Advertising & PR.I learnt a lot about
systems & procedures and time management from him. He stressed the
importance of preparing detailed job lists, setting priorities when one is
faced with multiple tasks and how to delegate jobs and manage subordinates etc.
He always said, “Remember, you can delegate a job but not the responsibility”.
He was not only a great boss but also a great leader.
In Clarion
McCann, I was fortunate to get good bosses who shaped me into a very fine
advertising professional. All of them realised early that I am a
self-starter, who did not wait for instructions but was always proactive and
willing to accept any challenges. They trusted me, empowered me and gave me
full freedom to do the jobs allotted to me without any interference.
One of them, Mr
Farouqui,was also a great leader. He told me one day, “Rajan, I am not your
filing clerk. Don’t send me copies of all your letters. I know you do whatever
you think is right. If you have a problem with a client or anybody else, come
to me. I will solve it for you”. He also added, “It is simple - if I allow
you to function freely, if you do well and they have to promote you, they have
to consider promoting me first for being your boss. Don’t forget
that credit for all the good work that you are doing on the account also
accrues to me!” This piece of advice left a deep impression on me. In the
corporate world, where many bosses feel threatened if their juniors
are smarter and do everything to scuttle their progress, Farouqui was
different.
In the end, being a boss is not really about power. It is about leadership. A good boss helps people grow, learn, and feel proud of their work. A bad boss mostly
teaches employees one valuable skill: updating their
résumés to look for a new job.
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