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Bad Bosses

I've written about my mentor. He's my former boss and I still stay in contact with him. I'm LinkedIn with my two previous managers and I'm Facebook friends with my first boss out of college. My current boss is very fair and supportive (not sucking up, just the truth). She knows I will stay on focus and take care of the customer. I've only been with the company for eight months but there is trust in our department. Overall, I've been lucky to have bosses who've made a positive impact in my life. Then there was one.

It was shortly after I left my first job out of college when I started working for the bad boss. I wanted to utilize my degree and had an opportunity to do it locally. It was hard to tell my first boss 'goodbye' but it was a great chance and I didn't want to pass it up. The position was newly created and I was excited to make an impact. My supervisor? The supervisor was more interested in tooting their own horn.

In the first few weeks I'd ask for time to discuss expectations. Time was promised but never permitted. I'd generate ideas and programs but I would rarely, if ever, receive any feedback. It was demoralizing. I'd meet with vendors and the questions I'd receive had nothing to do with the meeting but personal questions about my boss. I was young, but my radar was up. What is going on here?

Two months into the job and it had felt like 20 years. A grind. Unable to connect with my boss on any level. I'd reach out to other departments to see what they had to say about the position and my ideas. Big mistake. In the eyes of my boss I was no longer on the team. The bus my boss was driving was headed toward me and I wasn't getting on, I was being thrown under.

I'd come home from work and just be miserable. It wasn't the position but the lack of goals and direction that made me miserable. How could I effectively do my job if the person managing me didn't have goals. My day was 'shooting from the hip'. If you've been there you know it's draining. The day at work made the night at home and weekends just as draining. The negativity consumed me.

It was only four months into my tenure and I knew this wasn't going to last. I loved the company but couldn't stay under the circumstances. I looked and thankfully found something two months later. The last two months of employment under that boss seemed like decades.

I was open and honest in my exit interview. I called it like it was and I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Oddly, I was the first one to share feelings about this boss to anyone in HR. I left, however, that manager stayed at the company for a few more years before they left in a ball of fire. I received a few calls when the 'let go' took place. I guess it was ugly. It took the company a few years to realize what it took me a few months to figure out - bad boss.

This wasn't exactly the best time in my life professionally but the lessons learned from those six months helped me mature both personally and professionally. While I can now shake my head with a smile when I look back at that tim, I'd never want to go back and work for that bad boss again.

Times are tough and jobs aren't as plentiful as they once were in the Janesville area. How's your relationship with your boss? Job seekers, if you get that odd feeling about a 'boss to be' during an interview do you suppress it and move forward or look elsewhere?

Steve Knox was born, raised and landed back in Janesville. He encourages you to participate as he writes on Janesville and beyond as this Generation X guy supports his Janesville mission, global vision. Steve is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.