Does your boss demand that you fill in all free time on your calendar with business appointments? Is he or she tyrannical to the point of demanding excessive travel and incursions on your personal and family time? Does the boss make you travel coach and watch expenses like a hawk?
Why would you take the risks of independent consulting if all you have is a nine-to-five job with a surly and inconsiderate boss? My boss is wonderful. He allows me to schedule work around my personal life, family, and interests. He understands that it’s about quality, not quantity, and that I can be trusted to do the right thing. I come and go as I please and, as long as the results are there, he’s happy. In fact, he’s forgiving of failures and errors and treats them as unavoidable lessons on the road to success.
Many of you have bosses that would make Scrooge McDuck or Simon Legree seem worth seeking out for better working conditions. Why you take that kind of abuse and malice, I can’t imagine. It may be something in your need to prove yourself to the boss, or try to meet ridiculous expectations because you fear failing.
In any case, life’s too short to toil for lousy bosses. Confront your overly-controlling, overbearing, obnoxious, inconsiderate boss and tell him or her you’re moving on.
Do it now. Go look in the mirror.
© Alan Weiss 2008. All rights reserved.
