Saturday, September 20, 2008

Not Being the Boss - Thankful for #33

In my old job I was the manager to a group of creative people. I will take this blog time to thank God, Universe, (insert deity here) that I no longer do that. I am a pee-on just like the rest of the team and I focus on what I need to do and do it. I have one main task, and usually that gives me plenty to do in 8 hours. I then go home and leave all of it behind. There are no more nights fretting about the lazy beatch that didn’t do anything all day, but talk on the phone and take smoke breaks; or the harbinger of doom who dispelled the qualities of his beliefs from a self-proclaimed cube pulpit. No I just do my job, giggle and let it all go.

Now it isn’t as easy as it may seem. I have a leadership quality to my personality. It isn’t really a control thing, just that I sometimes think I can give some good advice when it is asked of me. But that is all balanced by the fact that I have no actual power and that anything I think is right will be overturned by my boss so it is whatever.

I really appreciate not having to deal with whining hens who spend their days sabotaging a co-worker because she is prettier, smarter, better or any such nonsense – er – than them. No longer do I feel the need to strangle anyone for acting like an ass, when all I can really do is “coach” their lazy butt. Making a difference in these people’s lives was never going to happen and I gave up when I turned in my office key. They are still lazy and bitching, breeding out whiners and thinking that they are victims. Even in my darkest hours I think of them and realize that my life is so much better without them in it.

Now I wasn’t the best boss, but I did try and I did care. And some did say I was the best boss they had, and not because I let them get away with tons of shit, (they only got away with stuff because they did all their work, so I didn’t care what they did the rest of the time.) But I learned something from all of them and I see it now in bosses that I deal with. I don’t take their lack of interest as just that, I know they are swamped and can only focus on so much. I know that their abrupt snips are not personal attacks, but an accelerated way of getting their points out so they can move on to other topics. I know that their absence of knowledge about what’s going on isn’t because they choose to turn a blind eye, it is an expectation that they made the right hiring choice of an adult that would work appropriately and therefore doesn’t need any babysitting.

I am so glad I am not them. I may make less money, but for the simple thrill of peace-of-mind, I am very rich inside.

1 comment:

Rachel said...

Oh sh*t, I just basically wrote a blog post about how you totally made a difference as my boss.

nice timing. :)