Boss-less Entrepreneurs! Myth or Fantasy?

Do not quit your job and try to become an entrepreneur to get rid of your boss!

One golden tip and 4 steps to win your boss and improve your job satisfaction.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs who approached me for mentoring stated that their primary motivation is: ?I want to become my own boss “. In other words, they want to get rid of their boss or they do not want to have a boss. How little do they know! Maybe, at one time in the past, I was also that na?ve as well. The reality is totally different.

The internet is flooded with ads playing on the dissatisfaction of many employees, to sell "Become your own boss" courses.

Reality Check

 How many bosses does an entrepreneur have?

 An entrepreneur needs to cater to many bosses. Starting with investors (if any), board members, customers, regulators, co-founders, your own team etc. even your suppliers will boss you are around, unless you are a generous cash payer with money being no object.

Let alone your own spouse, family and friends; their expectations of you, and perception of your time allocation and priorities, totally change once you leave your paid job. Now that you are ? your own boss “, you should have total control of your time and abundance of free time! Sounds familiar?

 Having an invisible boss(s) makes it harder for others to understand that you are not as free as they wish you would be.

 My own worst boss

Reflecting on the past: I am probably the worst boss that I have ever had. That includes the demanding difficult bosses, I reported to, at one time or another. I am actually incredibly grateful to them that they pushed me to learn faster, overcome challenges and to develop my skills further.

 Sometimes I feel, I wish I had only one boss, to give my brain a little break, to lessen the level and scope my responsibilities and intensity of my workload and decision-making consequences.

There is no such a thing as a bad boss! Some bosses are more of a challenge than the others!

 First and foremost, you have to take responsibility for the situation, and have the right mindset to deal with it and find solutions. Consider it a challenge. Believing that your boss is bad, puts the blame on him/her, and pushes the responsibility away from you which is counterproductive.

Golden Rule:

 No matter how much you feel that you are more intelligent, more committed, more conscientious and more knowledgeable than your boss, you still need to treat your boss as a customer. Once you accept this assumption, you can start with the following steps to work out an implementation plan that will improve your job satisfaction and mental well-being.

 Step 1: Ask your boss about her/his expectation(s). Simply ask, “how can I help you reach your objectives? Lessen your burden and do your job better? How can I add value?

 Step 2: Quantify & qualify deliverables to meet those expectations. Be explicit, ask if I do so and so would I meet your expectations

 Step 3: Be assertive on how you would like to be treated, and what level of supervision you need versus how much reliability-level you offer. Also provide suggestions, ideas and solutions to meet the goals that your boss/the team have stayed or agreed upon. Pursuing other goals, and changing the objectives unilaterally is the worst thing you can do.

 Step 4: Review your deliverables and action plan regularly (I would suggest on weekly basis). Do not wait for your boss to give you feedback. Take initiatives and ask for feedback once you have assessed your own deliverables. This will save you time, energy and frustration if you happen to be going in the wrong direction (from the point-of-view) of your boss.

 Take the feedback seriously. After all, your boss has a bigger responsibility than you have. Your responsibility and deliverables are part of your boss’s responsibility and not the other way around.

 Once you take responsibility, a solution will be realized. If you do not take responsibility, you lose control. It becomes up to others to find a solution, at their own pace, and priority sequence. Under this scenario, you have to learn to be patient... very patient.

 What if this plan does not work?

 First: Did you really take ownership and full responsibility for the issue? Or just tried half-hearted?

 Second: In the event that you give up on the challenge, you are better off looking for another job.

 In all cases here are do’s and don’t during your transition period:

 1.     Do not complain. If complaining can solve your problems, they would be been solved already, and you will not be in that situation.

2.     Do not start a “documentation war”. This is a defensive posture that does not go well with the mindset of a winner. Do the absolute minimum to protect yourself or communicate your position. Do it in an upbeat positive manner, presenting solutions, and offering help.

3.     Your job search should not be done during your work hours. You need to do this on your own time.

4.     Do not burn bridges. The world is a small place. One never knows...

5.     Do not bad mouth your boss, team or company.

6.     Never consider “sabotage” or even think of it.

 No matter how much you hate the situation you are in, you would like to be remembered positively. Channel your energy in finding a good job to excel at. Success is the best revenge. That is the only type of revenge you should consider.

Remain positive and resourceful. Now that you have made the decision to leave, you should have less of a mental struggle. Your mental energy should be channeled productively. This will help you find your next job easier.

 The real acid test: Would you hire yourself if you did any of above 6 damaging behaviors?

Escape-prenur?

You probably noticed that I did not suggest starting your business a solution, to get away from your boss. If you failed to win over your difficult boss, there is a good chance that you are not ready to cope with the responsibilities of an entrepreneur.

Better, give yourself some time to learn how to do that with your new boss. Your chances of succeeding are much better, now that you have that previous experience (that you hopefully learned something from), and you are starting a new page with no baggage to carry.

Conclusion:

Do not start a business unless you have learned how to deal with difficult bosses and win them. 

Question:

What else can one do to cope and win difficult bosses?