Boss-ness

Up until January 17th, I was somebody's boss. Actually, I was the boss of three people. Some of you may think this made me important, or at least feel important. On some levels, maybe. On other levels, it made me feel everything my employees were feeling, amplified by like 1 jillion degrees.

It was my first official 'boss' gig, and I worked hard at it for over a year: open door policy, super flexible and trusting with the comings and goings of my employees, asking for feedback on my 'boss-ness', constantly seeking development opportunities tailored to the individual as well as the team...all in all, I like seeing people grow, learn about themselves, and become passionate about the job that they have been given. Call me an achiever, call me a maximizer...Strengthsfinder already did, so join the bandwagon.

So, naturally, I was a little sad to see my boss responsibilities disappear (along with the cubicle I forget I ever had). However, after two trips to the Land of Cubicles and a few hours of catching up with my former employees this week, I am realizing that for now, for this season of my life, it's kind of nice not to have to worry about their day-in-day-out drama, politics, pregnancies, PTO, or work load. It's not my responsibility any more to try and figure out how to change a culture that simply will never change in the exact way or time you want it to. It's not my responsibility any more to make sure that performance plans are being evaluated and confidential feedback is gathered about the 'problem child' of the team. It's not my responsibility any more to ensure that the two musketeers aren't pissing off the third musketeer by their 2-3 hour-a-day-average chat about reality tv or awards shows.

So, while I still miss tapping directly into that 'maximizer' side of myself when it comes to developing other people into the best employee they can be (pretty much, I'm like the Army), I don't miss the DRAM-A that always, without fail, comes along with it.

Your high blood pressure and threat of going on bed-rest during the 4th month of your pregnancy is not my problem. The fact that you live downtown and your street isn't plowed yet and your internet is down, is not my problem. The fact that the constant whispering of your co-workers pisses you off on a daily basis, is not my problem. Ahh, that felt good to write.

While I still sympathize with these issues and care about each of these people individually, it's just absolutely freeing to not have to handle them in the role of 'boss'. At least for now. I'm going to enjoy it. :)

So glad I don't werk in this type of passive aggressive environment on a daily basis. www.passiveaggressivenotes.com  has some hilarious stuff...