One of the great things about being about being near-completely directionless for the better part of your life is the range of jobs you end up working. And there's been a few. More than a few in fact.
Worst job? Hard to say really. Auckland Co-Op Taxis was shit. Gardening was mostly shit. Tauranga Milk Factory was pretty bad. Picasso Café in Auckland was bad. So, so many mice. Damn I hated having to dispose of tiny carcasses every day. Kitchen handing at retirement homes wasn't crash hot. Anything to do with Kiwifruit wasn't great either.
Regardless, and whinging aside, the one thing every job has in common is a boss. And bosses are something I've been thinking about lately. God they can be assholes when they choose to be. One of my favourites was a café in Auckland where every single day, just five minutes before lunch, the boss would freaking lose it. Why the hell the guy was in service is beyond me. Dude... you knew that people were going to be streaming in the door at twelve, why the same shock every day?
Fact is, way too many think they'll retire from the rat race and 'open a café'. The number who subsequently 'close a café with a substantial loss' is a fine testament to naivety.
I learn from that experience that 'knowing what you're in for' is the number one requirement for any job. If you walk into a workplace with the wrong kind of expectations you're due for a rude walk-up call.
Some bosses on the other hand have been actual mentors. The trick I learnt is that all any decent boss wants to do is hang out with the team. In fact, it's one of the markers I look for in a workplace. If the boss is just slightly aloof, so as not to appear like they're trying too hard, but still just slightly 'one of the crew', while not giving away their persona of authority, then the workplace will probably be good.
It is true that being a boss is a lonely occupation. The careful balancing act between being and not being one of the team is something I'd not like to try without a few more years on me, and a much greater understanding of the way people think.
Regardless, the things I've learnt from good bosses range pretty widely.
A gentle, well-directed word has twice the effect of a screaming rant.
Preparation for the day ahead, both mentally and in actual planning, is the key to a happy workplace.
Knowing what customers and collegues will ask you for, however crazy, is essential to always staying on top of your game.
Always hold something back. An employee surprised and admiring of your 'action to save the day' will stay loyal.
Never appear to know more than you actually do, if you don't know, say so. You can always employ someone who does.
Let your employees know that you appreciate them. If this means summoning the occasional tear of joy at staff functions, terrific.
An employee might cut you with a knife or scald you with a litre of boiling water. Unless they meant to do it, don't lose your rag. Just take the piss out of them for at least a week. Maybe two. Depends on how bad the injury is.
On the other hand, we've all had to deal with the little Napoleons of this world. The power hungry little men or angry sisters. The obnoxious fat bastards. The petty, grabby, vain, obtuse or insane megalomaniacs. The anti-social ones who were forced to open their own business because they never learn to play well with others. The manager-built-into-their-own-fortress (and who uses it as a safe haven to torture his minions). And the worst? The tight-fisted thieves who'll work you like a slave, then short-change you on pay or conditions.
And my advice for dealing with the difficult bosses? Deal with them as little as possible. Sorry, that advice is a little lame, but hey, every situation is so subtly different. My own answer in the past has been to simply split. I'll give 110% to a decent boss, and more if they're actually some kind of mentor. But if I'm dealing with a raving fool, a manipulative son-of-a-bitch, or outright dickhead, then I either down-tools or start planning my exit strategy.
Maybe the general answer is to treat that nazi boss as a teacher as well? I know that the biggest idiots have made good and positive contributions to the way I think about and approach other people, if not only as an indication of how not to act!
After all, life is too short to suffer fools gladly.