Saturday, January 16, 2016

Like a boss

When people asked him what he wanted to become when he grew up, he said, “I want to be a boss!” Not doctor, engineer, pilot or police. He wanted to be a boss. This is my friend’s story. I was really fascinated and amused when he told me about his childhood dream. How ambitious, I thought. He said that he saw a boss as someone who is very important and treated with a lot of respect – and that is what he wanted to be. 

I never wanted to be a boss. Even today, I don’t want to be a boss. Being a boss is a pain. I have a few people reporting to me at work, and I hate it! I want to be seen as a friend and want to get work done amicably, without ordering people around. And the balancing act – of being nice to them but still serious enough so that they don’t take me for granted – is very difficult. It is exhausting!

I am an ambitious person but sometimes I wonder if I have it in me to be a leader. I strive for consensus, to make everyone happy, to take everyone’s opinion, but then I realize that it is a waste of time and energy because we never come to a conclusion. Perhaps, ‘majority wins’ is not the best solution. Many a times, I work extra, because it is so exhausting to tell them what needs to be done that instead I do it myself, in less than half the time that they would take. I know it is a bad habit, and I have to learn to delegate efficiently. I hate to be critical but I just wish people were a bit more excited about their work, and didn’t see it as a chore. I love my job but people make it frustrating sometimes.

I want to be a cool boss who is fun to be around and does not breathe down your neck making you work. I want to be an efficient boss who gets her hand dirty and works with everyone to meet the deadline. I want to be a boss who has a life beyond work. I want to be a boss who is approachable. I want to be a boss who is articulate, motivating and comes up with solutions. Perhaps it is about being a good manager, instead of a good leader.

And I do believe I am like that in bits and pieces, but I am not sure if I am doing it right. The thing is I don’t want to be a leader – I want to work, but I don’t want to be responsible for making others work. And I prefer working on my own, instead of working in a team.

Sometimes I feel I should leave all this and become a potter, build my own label of earthenware; I will make teapots and plates and glasses and cups. Reality is that I don’t even know pottery ~chuckle~. So I am far far away from this dream. I love this proliferation of young entrepreneurs I see around me. Not the funded start-ups. But the creative kids who have branched out on their own. I know someone who makes beautiful dream-catchers, I have a friend who makes soaps, another person I know runs a travel group, and someone makes mandalas and teaches meditation. They seem so passionate about their work and feel so fulfilled. I am sure they are not making a lot of money (who knows, I am just assuming!) but at least they are doing something creative.


I want to earn good money and do something that I love. Which is pretty much my job right now, but well, complainers have to complain and make a post out of something during a blogathon :P

4 comments:

  1. somewhere,I had read that Virgos are the labourers of the world. Though I don't really believe in that notion, but I can see a glimpse of that quality here.

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  2. Lovely post, very much every IT professionals story. Moreover, very few want to be a friendly and cool boss. Until and unless there's less pressure and boss is friendly, people would love the job what they do. We get frustrated for most of the things in IT industry and we try to look for greener pastures in other occupations. Anywhere and whatever we do, we should love to do it.

    Sims
    http://cutesmilealways.blogspot.in/

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  3. Thanks for a good read. Curious.

    http://concurrentmusingsofahumanbeing.blogspot.com/2016/02/patent-screw-feeder.html

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