Kara:

Bosshole? This is the first time that I’ve heard this term, but it definitely applies to one of my former bosses.

I worked for a company for a little over a decade. During that time, I was promoted from an entry level position in operations to Vice President of Sales and Marketing within five years and held that title for the remaining five years until I resigned.

My success was a combination of working long hours, producing work that exceeded what was expected, and taking on the tasks that others didn’t want which often included working directly with the corporate bosshole.

For the first three years, I didn’t work for him directly. Although he had a private office, he spent most of his time seated at a desk on a raised platform in the middle of the sales and sales support floor - roughly 50 people total.

He preferred sitting at this spot because he could keep a better eye on the activity in the room and command a presence which often resulted in problem makers and non producers being yelled at from across the room and then verbally berated loudly in front of everyone. Sales people often had to either cover up their phones or apologize to customers when the bosshole bellowed. At times, he pulled people into a private office where he would further break them down verbally and sometimes throw furniture or get physical.

Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross and Boiler Room were three of his favorite movies.

He was an intelligent, talented, successful individual. But he took just about as much pleasure in finding new ways to tear someone down as he did in closing large, profitable deals. He saved his personal rage for those that he knew would cower and not complain while he sent other managers to deal with people that he thought might quit or sue him for handling things his way.

In my 5 years of working directly for him, he only berated me twice. The first time I thanked him and the second time he apologized. Thanking him completely threw him off his game, but I thanked him because he was right about the point he was making. I made a mistake; he caught it and brought it to my attention. Other people often cowered or cried when he started in which usually encouraged his meanness. I had the ability to tune out how he was delivering his tantrum to get the purpose behind it. If his purpose was accurate or helpful, it didn’t matter how he delivered it. If his intent was inaccurate or intended solely for lashing out, then I stood up for myself.

This in turn was one of the reasons why I was promoted quickly. He believed that if I could stand up to his berating without being thrown off my game, then I could do the same when managing people and problem accounts.

I can’t wait to hear some of the other stories. I know I wasn’t blessed with the only bosshole.

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
http://thesologuide.com

Kara:

Bosshole? This is the first time that I’ve heard this term, but it definitely applies to one of my former bosses.

I worked for a company for a little over a decade. During that time, I was promoted from an entry level position in operations to Vice President of Sales and Marketing within five years and held that title for the remaining five years until I resigned.

My success was a combination of working long hours, producing work that exceeded what was expected, and taking on the tasks that others didn’t want which often included working directly with the corporate bosshole.

For the first three years, I didn’t work for him directly. Although he had a private office, he spent most of his time seated at a desk on a raised platform in the middle of the sales and sales support floor - roughly 50 people total.

He preferred sitting at this spot because he could keep a better eye on the activity in the room and command a presence which often resulted in problem makers and non producers being yelled at from across the room and then verbally berated loudly in front of everyone. Sales people often had to either cover up their phones or apologize to customers when the bosshole bellowed. At times, he pulled people into a private office where he would further break them down verbally and sometimes throw furniture or get physical.

Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross and Boiler Room were three of his favorite movies.

He was an intelligent, talented, successful individual. But he took just about as much pleasure in finding new ways to tear someone down as he did in closing large, profitable deals. He saved his personal rage for those that he knew would cower and not complain while he sent other managers to deal with people that he thought might quit or sue him for handling things his way.

In my 5 years of working directly for him, he only berated me twice. The first time I thanked him and the second time he apologized. Thanking him completely threw him off his game, but I thanked him because he was right about the point he was making. I made a mistake; he caught it and brought it to my attention. Other people often cowered or cried when he started in which usually encouraged his meanness. I had the ability to tune out how he was delivering his tantrum to get the purpose behind it. If his purpose was accurate or helpful, it didn’t matter how he delivered it. If his intent was inaccurate or intended solely for lashing out, then I stood up for myself.

This in turn was one of the reasons why I was promoted quickly. He believed that if I could stand up to his berating without being thrown off my game, then I could do the same when managing people and problem accounts.

I can’t wait to hear some of the other stories. I know I wasn’t blessed with the only bosshole.

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
http://thesologuide.com

Bosshole...great terminology. I worked for a small business landscaping company, and like any boss, mine wanted to make money. Makes sense. Including the owner (my boss) there were a total of 5 employees...it was almost like a family. But he was a very "high-strung" individual. He always wanted to go from step 1 to step 10 in as few steps as possible. He would the employees do sub-prime work in order to make more money faster. The only problem with that: we frequently had to go back and fix the problems that arose only weeks after the job was completed. He also made use (the employees) to the firing of "labor" when work was getting slow. He also made a LOT of empty promises, which only made us not work as hard when he wanted us to. In my 5 years working for him, we were promised bonuses and perks, but one of two things happened: he either never followed thru on them, or if he did, he held it against you if you ever wanted something else in the future. And on top of ALL of that, my bosshole never paid his bills until they were 2-5 months late. When I finally left, I found out that there were MANY suppliers that we weren't allowed to even buy from anymore, it was so bad, they wouldn't even accept our CASH.

I now work for a much better company, and my level of stress has gone down incredibly. I am thankful and fortunate for my new landscaping career path.

Bosshole...great terminology. I worked for a small business landscaping company, and like any boss, mine wanted to make money. Makes sense. Including the owner (my boss) there were a total of 5 employees...it was almost like a family. But he was a very "high-strung" individual. He always wanted to go from step 1 to step 10 in as few steps as possible. He would the employees do sub-prime work in order to make more money faster. The only problem with that: we frequently had to go back and fix the problems that arose only weeks after the job was completed. He also made use (the employees) to the firing of "labor" when work was getting slow. He also made a LOT of empty promises, which only made us not work as hard when he wanted us to. In my 5 years working for him, we were promised bonuses and perks, but one of two things happened: he either never followed thru on them, or if he did, he held it against you if you ever wanted something else in the future. And on top of ALL of that, my bosshole never paid his bills until they were 2-5 months late. When I finally left, I found out that there were MANY suppliers that we weren't allowed to even buy from anymore, it was so bad, they wouldn't even accept our CASH.

I now work for a much better company, and my level of stress has gone down incredibly. I am thankful and fortunate for my new landscaping career path.

Yes - that is why I decided to start my own business - got tired of working for bossholes! I was in commercial lending and my boss would, out of the blue, just start verbally beating people up because he was in a bad mood. It made the entire department's moral drop - people were leaving left and right. It always amazed me as employee turnover is so expensive and this guy could not see that it was his actions that were driving people away. Plus, everytime someone left - he would get mad then turn that anger on another - who would then leave as soon as they could.

I think the proble was that this bank offered some of the best jobs (pay and benefit wise) in the area - thus my boss thought that gave him control over people - that they would not leave to go to a lower paying job - but, leave it to people to find a way out. My way out was to start my own company.

Business Money Today
www.BusinessMoneyToday.com

Yes - that is why I decided to start my own business - got tired of working for bossholes! I was in commercial lending and my boss would, out of the blue, just start verbally beating people up because he was in a bad mood. It made the entire department's moral drop - people were leaving left and right. It always amazed me as employee turnover is so expensive and this guy could not see that it was his actions that were driving people away. Plus, everytime someone left - he would get mad then turn that anger on another - who would then leave as soon as they could.

I think the proble was that this bank offered some of the best jobs (pay and benefit wise) in the area - thus my boss thought that gave him control over people - that they would not leave to go to a lower paying job - but, leave it to people to find a way out. My way out was to start my own company.

Business Money Today
www.BusinessMoneyToday.com

I'm not sure whether this guy could be classified as a bosshole or not. I will never forget him telling me what he expects of his employees. He expected us all follow directions with "blind obedience". That was classic.

Will Peters
The Anstad Group
www.anstad.com

I'm not sure whether this guy could be classified as a bosshole or not. I will never forget him telling me what he expects of his employees. He expected us all follow directions with "blind obedience". That was classic.

Will Peters
The Anstad Group
www.anstad.com

Kara...
what a great term! Bosshole...hahahahaha!! That is hilarious!

I've worked for a Bosshole before.
He was the owner of a small contracting company. Less than 50ppl I would say.
He would show up to the plant or customer site drunk some times...and he cursed like a drunken sailor. But definitely very very smart.

He would cut down people infront of other employees all the time.
One time, I over heard him making a negative comment about me to our supervisor. So afterwards I confronted the supervisor about it and told him that I don't put up with this kind of crap. There is no need for it and it was un-called for. He said that he would take it up with the owner - and it never happened again afterwards.

This bosshole had some serious drinking issues - and I'm not sure how he still managed to run the company. But he did..because he made good with the customers and they knew he was very intelligent and could deliver. A trained dog had better social skills than this guy...but - at the end of the day...he could deliver on his promises. So he kept gettting contracts.
I eventually left, because the work environment was just too negative to be around. The money was great...but at the end of the day..it just wasn't worth it.

Ryan
Do Dat Entertainment
www.dodat.com

Kara...
what a great term! Bosshole...hahahahaha!! That is hilarious!

I've worked for a Bosshole before.
He was the owner of a small contracting company. Less than 50ppl I would say.
He would show up to the plant or customer site drunk some times...and he cursed like a drunken sailor. But definitely very very smart.

He would cut down people infront of other employees all the time.
One time, I over heard him making a negative comment about me to our supervisor. So afterwards I confronted the supervisor about it and told him that I don't put up with this kind of crap. There is no need for it and it was un-called for. He said that he would take it up with the owner - and it never happened again afterwards.

This bosshole had some serious drinking issues - and I'm not sure how he still managed to run the company. But he did..because he made good with the customers and they knew he was very intelligent and could deliver. A trained dog had better social skills than this guy...but - at the end of the day...he could deliver on his promises. So he kept gettting contracts.
I eventually left, because the work environment was just too negative to be around. The money was great...but at the end of the day..it just wasn't worth it.

Ryan
Do Dat Entertainment
www.dodat.com

I have; this would be my first time dealing with a supervisor such as this one. She really has some unresolved issues, and this was upon her starting the position. Once she was in the seat she went crazy with relentless and unorganized control. She worked to sever any work relationship others had.

I have; this would be my first time dealing with a supervisor such as this one. She really has some unresolved issues, and this was upon her starting the position. Once she was in the seat she went crazy with relentless and unorganized control. She worked to sever any work relationship others had.

My last boss personified the term. She never let me improve my job, always expected me to work nights and weekends, and even forced me to come into the office during a snowstorm when the rest of the company was allowed to stay home. When she moved on and my new boss arrived, he let me do all of the improvements she would not let me do. Needless to say, my performance improved significantly.

She was the female version of Dilbert's Pointy-Haired Boss.

My last boss personified the term. She never let me improve my job, always expected me to work nights and weekends, and even forced me to come into the office during a snowstorm when the rest of the company was allowed to stay home. When she moved on and my new boss arrived, he let me do all of the improvements she would not let me do. Needless to say, my performance improved significantly.

She was the female version of Dilbert's Pointy-Haired Boss.

I have worked for a "Bosshole". I was working for a well known truck dealership and it was alway a unwritten rule of the service department that all service advisors had to work the last Saturday of the month to catch up on closing repair orders and finishing paperwork for the end of the month. My wife was pregnant and on her last month and of course you guessed it she went into labor on the last Saturday of the month. I emailed my boss (because he would not answer his cell phone) and told him that she was going into labor. He sent me back this huge email stating that it was company policy to be there on the last Saturday and there were no excuses. I told him were were on our way to the hospital and there was no way I could be there. Needless to say we had a healthy baby boy and I was never treated the same again by this boss. About a year later I was finally part of a company downsize and I will always ask myself if it had anything to do with that Saturday.

I have worked for a "Bosshole". I was working for a well known truck dealership and it was alway a unwritten rule of the service department that all service advisors had to work the last Saturday of the month to catch up on closing repair orders and finishing paperwork for the end of the month. My wife was pregnant and on her last month and of course you guessed it she went into labor on the last Saturday of the month. I emailed my boss (because he would not answer his cell phone) and told him that she was going into labor. He sent me back this huge email stating that it was company policy to be there on the last Saturday and there were no excuses. I told him were were on our way to the hospital and there was no way I could be there. Needless to say we had a healthy baby boy and I was never treated the same again by this boss. About a year later I was finally part of a company downsize and I will always ask myself if it had anything to do with that Saturday.

I recently had a boss who, after a very successful brainstorming session surrounding a breakthrough product, told me I should stop being "so enthusiastic".

I recently had a boss who, after a very successful brainstorming session surrounding a breakthrough product, told me I should stop being "so enthusiastic".

I had another boss who said she was a bit of a "control freak". No wonder I couldn't work with her anymore.

What is really missing in Corporate America today is the sense of true leadership. I was a leadership instructor at the US Army Drill Sergeant Academy for many years in the late 1980s.

We taught that effective leadership really comes down to three basic focuses (in this order) :
1) MISSION - Are the specific mission goals being reached? If not, learn the causes and adjust. If they are being reached, then, as a leader your next focus should be on number 2 below...
2) MEN (and WOMEN) - Once you are sure the mission goals are being reached, then focus on your people. Are their needs being meet? Do they feel valued?. How can you best support them in their focus to accomplishing the mission?
3) SELF - Now you can focus on your own needs and rewards. But the great thing about this is that by focusing on the first two, most often this focus is taken care of by itself.

The problems usually stem from what the normal corporate culture is focused on (again in order): MISSION, SELF, MEN (and WOMEN). This will almost always leads to problems.

I had another boss who said she was a bit of a "control freak". No wonder I couldn't work with her anymore.

What is really missing in Corporate America today is the sense of true leadership. I was a leadership instructor at the US Army Drill Sergeant Academy for many years in the late 1980s.

We taught that effective leadership really comes down to three basic focuses (in this order) :
1) MISSION - Are the specific mission goals being reached? If not, learn the causes and adjust. If they are being reached, then, as a leader your next focus should be on number 2 below...
2) MEN (and WOMEN) - Once you are sure the mission goals are being reached, then focus on your people. Are their needs being meet? Do they feel valued?. How can you best support them in their focus to accomplishing the mission?
3) SELF - Now you can focus on your own needs and rewards. But the great thing about this is that by focusing on the first two, most often this focus is taken care of by itself.

The problems usually stem from what the normal corporate culture is focused on (again in order): MISSION, SELF, MEN (and WOMEN). This will almost always leads to problems.