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Want To Be A Better Boss?
Why being “the one in charge” is the least we should aspire to be
I’ve managed people for pretty much my entire working career. Studying at university aged nineteen, I was working part-time for one of the largest coffee companies in the world. At twenty-two, I was appointed as a Store Manager. I had become the boss. Looking back, I know that I was appointed before I was ready, and that twenty-two-year-old me wasn’t at all prepared for the level of responsibility that came alongside my new position. I knew that my colleagues, who were once my peers, were now in my charge, and I had authority over them, so they did what I asked them too. Beyond that, I was like a deer in headlights.
What does it mean to be the “boss”?
Depending on the context, there are several definitions of the word:
boss (noun)
a person who is in charge of other people at work and tells them what to do.
‘I’ll ask my boss if I can have the day off.’
to boss (verb)
to tell somebody what to do in an aggressive and/or annoying way
‘I’m sick of you bossing me around.’
