Even Bad Bosses Can Offer Something

This was a Thanksgiving holiday I will surely not press amongst the pages in my scrapbook. First on Black Friday while everyone was cramming into the nation’s retailers desperately seeking discounts, I was stuck in a tire center for 6 hours waiting for a wheel alignment and struts to be installed on my VW to the tune of $800.

Then, just to make the weekend complete, I came down with the flu and have been virtually bedridden for the past five days. So, as anyone who is mired in their bedroom for long periods of time knows, eventually cabin fever begins to set in.

So, thinking about the topic for my weekly blog I figured out during my working life I have had, give or take – roughly 37 direct reports. No that’s not a misprint, 37.

I reflected on what I took away from each of them and naturally, depending on their leadership qualities and job competence, it varied from person to person. Some were absolutely career changing, while others made a contribution here and there. Some management tenures were short-lived and still others were fortunately not around long enough to display their obvious shortcomings.

But I can honestly say that there were only two direct reports in my career that I gleaned absolutely nothing from, and both were and still are destined for anonymity. Not to be petty and vindictive but good riddance!

And the lessons I learned as it turns out did not have to be complicated.

For example, one superior charged with turning around a sales and publishing revenue slump gathered everyone around and drew the face of a clock on a piece of paper with both hands squarely on 12. He told everyone that change didn’t have to happen all at once, but rather it was more effective in short increments. To demonstrate he re-drew the clock, so the face now read 12:05. “See, that’s change,” he said.

Another saw what upper management and ownership obviously did not and determined that the company salespeople spent too much time on the phone and not enough in front of potential customers. He succeeded pushing through a radical mandate that each rep was to spend a minimum of 12 days each month on the road.

And I could go on.

I have learned over the years that you don’t have to have a Stephen Covey or Peter Drucker as a boss to make a lasting impression on your career philosophy or hone your abilities. Sometimes change can come from both good and bad managers.

And I’ve learned to live with both – just as long as it comes.