Being Boss

Being boss is not always what it is cracked up to be. Sure, there are perks that come with being in-charge. You get the big office and the big desk. Often times, you get the best parking place, too. On some level, people defer to you whenever you chime in with an opinion or observation as if everything you say is golden. And then there is the matter of getting the highest salary. Everybody likes that. No question about it, there are definitely good things that come with being placed in a position where you oversee others. Being supervisor, however, does have its set of challenges that are unique to this key role.

Being boss means you more than any one has to be an effective communicator. It is your vision, ideas, etc. that drive those that report to you. It is your set of priorities that directly and indirectly determine the course the day for your subordinates. This is no small thing because it means, as boss, you have to be good in both how you formulate your vision, priorities, etc. but in how you articulate them to those that follow you. Failure to properly communicate your goals for the organization can have a seriously negative impact on the company/organization for which each of you work. It, of course, it can also jeopardize everyone's future employment status, including yours.

Another downside to being boss is that it means you work in a fishbowl. Make no mistake, people was watching you constantly. What are you doing? Who are talking with? What meetings are you attending? Are you in a good mood? Even though you may close the door to your big office, as the one high up the office food chain than anyone else, you give up all claims to office privacy or anonymity.  This means even how and what you communicate non-verbally must be taken seriously. While everyone may report to you, it is you, as boss, that operates under the watchful eyes of others. This means you must take all acts of communication ever so seriously.  All the time.