Some people just struggle with being a boss, taking charge and eliminating that twinge of making sure everyone likes you and is onboard with every miniscule decision that takes place in a business’ day-to-day. In some ways, I think it’s a lot like getting used to fatherhood, which is a major adjustment that doesn’t really sink in immediately (so I hear), and won’t until long after the baby is a real living, breathing person crawling around. Both these things remind me of a joke I’ve heard: “Please, call me son. My dad was father.”
It relates because it’s ridiculous to act like you’re something other than what you are. Things have changed and you’re a leader. You get a compensated differently. But just because you get paid more doesn’t mean you’re acting like a boss.
So how do you start acting like a boss? That’s a little tougher to nail down, but blog Linked2Leadership.com has taken a stab at exploring how you can do it.
First up, it says: “Some people love the title of ‘boss’ because it is a public declaration of their significance and raised status. Other managers, the more successful ones, realize that results are not achieved by wielding status, but by engagement, good management and loyalty.”
In other words, bosses don’t act like “bosses,” but instead act as a protector who steadies the ship. Not only steadies it, but, as Linked2Leadership recommends, steadying according to a directive, or with an end goal in mind for the company or an integrity everyone wants to uphold but may lose sight of while lost out in the weeds when dealing with this or that.
Everyone knows you’re a boss. You don’t need to act like it — and just being called a boss doesn’t mean you are one. Read this to get pointed in the right direction.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
