Respecting your boss.....

MJ5150 · #1 07-07-2010, 01:45 PM

I want to see how others feel about showing respect for your boss/manager/supervisor. So the question is.....

Do you find it more difficult to respect your boss when they have not done the job you are doing as compared to having a boss who has doen your job?

For me, it is harder to respect my boss when they have not done the job I am doing.

-Mike

drteeth · #2 07-07-2010, 01:49 PM

In my experience, bosses will respect you less if they haven't done your job.

Relic · #3 07-07-2010, 01:53 PM

If you value a good working relationship, you'll have to show them at least a minimal amount of respect regardless if they've done your job before or not.

Phalex · #4 07-07-2010, 01:57 PM

My boss owns the company. He's a real smart guy that's written a few standards for ASTM. He hasn't done my job, but he has a decent grasp of it. We have a good relationship. At work, he's the boss and what he wants, I'll try and do. At the bar, I'm the bass player and he's the guy that keeps feeding me drinks.

Gard · #5 07-07-2010, 02:11 PM

As the manager of a small company with workers that do things I couldn't dream of doing, I have a perspective that I can share.

I have the greatest respect and admiration for the guys that work in our shop. I've always made it a point to spend time observing what they do, ask questions about how and why they do what they do, and whenever it seems reasonable, ask them to show me HOW to do it myself, so that I have a good grasp of what they're doing and how it all fits together.

In my time at my job, I've been less than perfect in the execution of it at times, sometimes to the great frustration and aggravation of those that work here - including the person I answer to, the owner of the company. However, I think that because I put an honest effort into understanding all the things that go into our product, all of the processes that make it come together, and I genuinely like and respect everyone here, I get some modicum of respect in return.

Fact is, I work in the coolest place in the universe for a bassist, the guys that work here are all geniuses and artists - the best of the best at what they do, and I'm just one lucky bastard. I think they know I feel that way, and that gets me off the hook.

aborgman · #6 07-07-2010, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Do you find it more difficult to respect your boss when they have not done the job you are doing as compared to having a boss who has doen your job?

For me, it is harder to respect my boss when they have not done the job I am doing.

As long as they understand the job, and are willing to defer where I have greater knowledge... not an issue for me.

Gard · #7 07-07-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aborgman

As long as they understand the job, and are willing to defer where I have greater knowledge... not an issue for me.

Yes!

I spend a part of every morning talking to the guys in our shop about what they've got on the docket for the day, how they will do it, and how far they expect to go in that day. I make requests, they either meet those requests, or explain why it cannot be done, and what can be done, then I adjust my expectations and accommodate the realistic goals.

Management should never be top-down, to be effective it must run in both directions.

Radical Edward · #8 07-07-2010, 02:51 PM

I wouldn't use the word, "respect" for how I've felt towards my bosses of the past and present, but I would call it "submitting to" my bosses.
Hm.. That doesn't go down well.. Ahwell. Such is life. I demand respect from everyone and they're no different. If they want my respect they have to earn it, and no boss is gonna do that to someone lower in the rank, so.. yep. No respect going on there. I just do what I have to to keep my job and keep my mouth shut.

sloasdaylight · #9 07-07-2010, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikaela Ellinger

I wouldn't use the word, "respect" for how I've felt towards my bosses of the past and present, but I would call it "submitting to" my bosses.
Hm.. That doesn't go down well.. Ahwell. Such is life. I demand respect from everyone and they're no different. If they want my respect they have to earn it, and no boss is gonna do that to someone lower in the rank, so.. yep. No respect going on there. I just do what I have to to keep my job and keep my mouth shut.

So you're down with the whole submitting to other people thing? That's hot.

Also a big ole' +1 to what aborgman said.

When I got hired, my boss undoubtedly knew more than I did. Now about 2 years or so down the line, i undoubtedly know more than he does, and most of the time he's cool with it, but when he starts trying to tell me how to do things that he hasn't done in quite some time, and has forgotten how to do entirely, i snap back, because it's unfair of him to do so, and I let him know, especially when he doesn't seem at all interested in learning how to do it himself, despite my continued efforts to enlighten him.

kesslari · #10 07-07-2010, 03:31 PM

I respect my boss when he/she treats me with respect, and trusts me to do my job, regardless of whether s/he has actually done the job. Micromanagers, whether they've done my job or no, irritate me.

Fortunately my current boss has what is for me an ideal boss' perspective:
Hire smart, capable people.
Point them at interesting, important work that needs to be done.
Get out of the way and let them do it, and if they need help from higher up on the food chain, be around to get/provide it.

MadMan118 · #11 07-07-2010, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gard

Yes!

I spend a part of every morning talking to the guys in our shop about what they've got on the docket for the day, how they will do it, and how far they expect to go in that day. I make requests, they either meet those requests, or explain why it cannot be done, and what can be done, then I adjust my expectations and accommodate the realistic goals.

Management should never be top-down, to be effective it must run in both directions.

My manager is a lot like this, we work on often tight deadlines so he tries to get things done within the time frame but without over working people. Both my manager and the manager above him can do the job a hell of a lot better than I can, but they've been doing it for years longer.

MatticusMania · #12 07-07-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kesslari

Fortunately my current boss has what is for me an ideal boss' perspective:
Hire smart, capable people.
Point them at interesting, important work that needs to be done.
Get out of the way and let them do it, and if they need help from higher up on the food chain, be around to get/provide it.

Sounds like my boss. This is what needs to be done, this is the date it needs to be done by, have fun, and dont screw up.

shadowtippy · #13 07-07-2010, 03:40 PM

Sometimes the thing you have to do is: respect the position, not the person. It is much better when you can respect both.

taquitos43 · #14 07-07-2010, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikaela Ellinger

I wouldn't use the word, "respect" for how I've felt towards my bosses of the past and present, but I would call it "submitting to" my bosses.
Hm.. That doesn't go down well.. Ahwell. Such is life. I demand respect from everyone and they're no different. If they want my respect they have to earn it, and no boss is gonna do that to someone lower in the rank, so.. yep. No respect going on there. I just do what I have to to keep my job and keep my mouth shut.

If you get to DEMAND respect, why to they have to EARN yours? It seems that if you want them to just respect you then it should go the other way also. I show respect until someone loses it.

Relic · #15 07-07-2010, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowtippy

Sometimes the thing you have to do is: respect the position, not the person. It is much better when you can respect both.

yep, this is kind of what I was trying to say in my post.

Munjibunga · #16 07-07-2010, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikaela Ellinger

I demand respect from everyone and they're no different. If they want my respect they have to earn it ...

So you demand respect, but others have to earn it. Remind me not to work for you.

Anyway, in the company that I ran, I had done pretty much every job in the company, including draftsman, lab tech, field tech, staff scientist, project manager, and Vice President. I did not do final word processing, but I tried to make my reports require as little from the WP people as possible when I submitted them for publication.

I think it's less important for a boss to have done everyone's job than it is to remember what it was like to be an employee. If I am remembered as having any single characteristic as a boss, I hope it is my commitment to fairness. My eyes have been opened by some of the other threads here pertaining to employment. Apparently there are a lot of sucky bosses out there, and I can't imagine how some of them stay employed.

Smart management knows it's much cheaper to keep employees happy than it is to continuously replenish an evaporating workforce. I have learned also that there are quite a number of people out there that just don't like employment (you know, having a boss). They are the ones that are a priori anti-management, and there's really nothing you can do to satisfy them. I strived to get rid of them ASAP because they are morale killers. People who recognize the value of employment and realize that the prosperity of the company is the key to their own prosperity tend to do well. They are the ones who typically end up in management.

I've had a number of employees who come in, work their 40, collect their checks, and go home. I'm fine with that, as long as they're fine with getting fewer promotions, smaller bonuses and smaller raises than those who put in the effort to lead. They also are the second to get laid off, the first being slackers and people with a 'tude.

My experience is that you get back from employment what you put into it. In some situations (like union shops) it's more difficult to get promoted based on merit.

Finally, if you don't respect your boss, do yourself and him/her a big favor. Quit.

IotaNet · #17 07-07-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

... if you don't respect your boss, do yourself and him/her a big favor. Quit.

My Mom once told me something that I think applies here: "The Boss may not always be right but the Boss is always the Boss."

ryco · #18 07-07-2010, 04:12 PM

I more respect a boss who is willing to chip in and get his hands dirty.

But I try to be respectful to all - the basic rule is "Treat others as you would want to be treated".

Bottom line is as long as that check comes in on time, I'm good!

"I was so busy working, I didn't have time to look over to see what you were doing" - Chuck Knox

Pilgrim · #19 07-07-2010, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aborgman

As long as they understand the job, and are willing to defer where I have greater knowledge... not an issue for me.

Same here. As long as they appreciate what I do and support me, it's good.

Mike N · #20 07-07-2010, 06:53 PM

My direct boss is a moron who rarely shows up on time, and spends the remainder of the day smoking cigarettes and jabbering on his cell phone. How he even has a job is beyond me. Sorry, little to no respect here.

The head of the whole operation I've worked with for 24 years, and although he couldn't do my job I couldn't do his either, nor would I want to. Much respect for what he does and what he has to put up with.