Boss, a common term referring to someone with subordinates reporting to him or her.

My inspiration for this interesting subject comes after working for more than 30 years. For two-thirds of the period, I headed a team, yet also reported to bosses with different styles and approaches. Hence my thoughts are on how a boss is generally considered a leader, but a leader is not necessarily a good boss.

There are good bosses or leaders, and then there are tyrants

Every boss practices his/her choice of defined leadership styles – democratic, autocratic, laisse fare or participative. Some may combine all the styles, some a selected combination, some only one; regardless of their preferred style, bosses have the same objective, to derive set targets in the optimum and most effective manner within the stipulated time.

It is a question of the capacity, capability, vulnerability, and experience of the individual in the leading position to achieve such targets in a positive and encouraging manner in order to be called boss.

In our career, we all aspire to be a boss, hoping to clinch the top seat of the establishment. Be it the supervisor position, manager’s chair, CEO level, the dream to be the boss is a normal aspiration for everyone in their daily progression at the workplace.

I too started as an officer and today have a team under me doing a great job and keeping me and my bosses happy.

Coming to my point, in our pursuit of clinching the boss’ seat, how are we expected to behave in order to achieve the aspired result? Do we have to treat our boss as a God or just like any other normal individual? Do we have to go out of our way and spend hours to appease and make the boss happy? Does this affection and respect guarantee the desired results of happiness for us? What impact would this have on our opportunities for promotion and job satisfaction?

Many Malaysians tend to treat their bosses as Gods. They deliver never-ending praises and do literally anything to appease their bosses. They worship the employers as the ultimate being; well, at least for the daily eight hours of work.

However, in some cases, such special treatment often leads to the boss actually believing that he or she is that ultimate being, and the employee’s intent to receive ultimately good treatment in return tends to backfire with the boss evolving into a tyrant or dictator.

Employees are to be obedient, non-questioning, simply subservient to the boss. To put it simply, they are to be seen and not heard.

I have witnessed bosses terminating staff for a tiny error, leaving the staff in tears and totally broken. Break the rule, lose your job.

At the start of my career, I, too, experienced a self-proclaimed God-like supervisor who was generous in criticism, but selfish with praise.

He would walk into the office and write out a minimum two-page list of criticisms and comments on our mistakes and errors noted in our work. No appreciation or encouragement.

The large, rounded handwriting still lingers in my head after almost 30 years now.

A pleasant environment at the workplace depends on the relationship between employer and employee. A good relationship with management is the key factor in an employee’s job satisfaction, thus boosting the employee’s performance level and delivery of good results at the workplace.

According to McKinsey’s studies, mental health is more important for overall life satisfaction, unfortunately studies also show that most people find their managers to be far from being ideal; for example, in a recent survey, 75% of survey participants said the most stressful aspect of their job was their immediate boss.

Those with bad relationships with management reported substantially lower job satisfaction than those with very good and quite good relationships.

With this in mind, the obvious solution is to “repair” and “refurbish” the boss’ attitude.

One of the main issues to deal with is the God complex.

A person with the God complex always believes that he/she is perfection personified, forever incapable of making a mistake, and never willing to take blame for anything that goes wrong.

For instance, in the case of doctors and their responsibility to make life-or-death decisions for their patients, it may be possible (and expected) for these medical professionals to usurp such a thought and feel that they are somewhat like God.

While that is the most common representation, the God complex can rear its ugly head in nearly any industry.

To put it simply, this narcissistic personality flaw relates to the perception of perfection, making a person with such a complex see himself/herself as superior and above all others.

My experience and consulting knowledge show that an arrogant leader is simply unhealthy and uncompelling. They not only harm the company, but also drain employee motivation, foster high turnover rates, paralyze entire departments and quell everyone’s ideas except their own.

Arrogant leaders combined with fearful executives achieve nothing except a lack of productivity, creativity and drive.

The best bosses are those who are leaders. They are transparent, approachable and supportive. They do not lock themselves away in their ivory towers with a palpable air of arrogance. They learn from their failures and reprimand themselves. They discuss the points of errors and set out to improve as a team; they encourage their team to step out from their comfort zones and think of successful ideas and outcomes.

As a leader, showcase your accomplishments and be triumphant of your successes. Simultaneously, be forthcoming of your failures, too, and work as a team to determine the root of the flop, and hope to flip it over to become a success. Share your personal experiences in your failures and how you overcame it. Take accountability rather than shift the blame.

The more transparent you can be about your flaws, the more relatable and approachable you will become as a leader.

When you are a leader, your direct reports work for you. However, that does not mean they love to serve you. Each employee is aiming to gain something from their experience working with you.

In most situations, bosses tend to use a common phrase like “It would help me if…” and “I need you to…” when instructing their staff. As the boss, these phrases emphasize what the team members can do for you, and help to make your work easier, but it does not provide any valuable support for your subordinates.

Occasionally it would be good to flip the coin and focus on how you can serve your team members. “Can I help you…” can go a long way in making you far more approachable and supportive to your staff. To avoid falling into the abyss of the God complex, listen to and consider the thoughts and opinions of others; every opinion and idea has its reasons and merits.

• Ask your team what they think of your idea
• Ask them to chime in with their own suggestions and improvements
• Ask them what they think is the best way to move forward

When they respond, be open to their answers and provide positive criticisms. and opinions seriously. Just as your team members sincerely offer their ideas and suggestions, it is only sincere that you consider their responses and discuss improvements and solutions as a team.

A boss and a leader differ in their approaches and touch. A boss is hierarchical whereas a leader is flat

Be the leader who is approachable rather then the mighty boss who is good at firing empty salvos.

People are remembered for their kindness and not anything else.

(Ravindran Raman Kutty is an active social worker.)