The Benefits of a Bad Boss

Having a bad boss can take a tremendous toll on your physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Once you are able to move on however and obtain clarity of thought, a manager mismatch teaches us the following:

1. Self-Worth – allowing one person to dictate our sense of self-worth is dangerous. Having a bad boss forces us to dig deep to remind ourselves of our strengths, gifts, and who we are irrespective of one person’s view.

2. Compassion – one of my favorite sayings is “hurt people hurt others.” Bad managers often struggle with deep insecurity and it can help (if possible!) to find compassion for them. Know they aren’t secure in who they are so they put others down. Secure and confident leaders will celebrate their people, be open to feedback, and won’t feel threatened when their people shine bright!

3. Appreciation – when you finally have a great boss, you appreciate them 10x! You never take for granted how much they invest you, show care, and provide balanced feedback (versus hearing *nothing* or only criticism from a bad boss).

If you’ve experienced a challenging manager in your career, remind yourself of the type of manager you *really* don’t want to be and then strive to be the amazing leader you were meant to be!