A good company or a good supervisor?

Of course, you want both. However, if you can only choose one, what would you do? Many professionals would have worked for a good supervisor as well as a lousy one. There is a popular saying: "People leave managers, not companies". I have a different perspective which I will explain through the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: A good supervisor, but a lousy company

In this case, it is obviously a pleasure to work for a good supervisor who is helpful. While the employee may be taken care of and protected by a supervisor, he or she still has to go through the grind of working in an environment that is not conducive to contribute and grow. At some point, the supervisor herself will move out when the toxic culture is too harsh for her to bear. When that happens, whatever protection the employee had is completely gone and is now fully exposed to the toxic culture. In such a case, send your resume out and move to another job.

Scenario 2: A good company, but a lousy supervisor

In this case, one has to obviously endure the idiosyncrasies of the lousy supervisor. However, the other areas of the company will be of great support to the individual. After all one doesn’t only form a relationship with the supervisor, but with so many other stakeholders at a 360-degree level. When an individual is facing such adversity, he or she should continue to put heart and soul into the job on hand and strive to deliver stellar results without holding anything back. Such continued efforts will be noticed by peers as well as the leaders above the immediate supervisor, earning credibility to the individual. When an individual earns such credibility, it will be handy when encountering a lousy supervisor.

Good companies usually have mechanisms to weed out lousy supervisors as they focus on the long-term benefits as well as the well-being and morale of their employees. JW Marriott, in his bestselling book “The Spirit to Serve: Marriott's Way”, recalls an incident where during his visit to one of the hotels, he noticed good results, but toxic behavior of the hotel manager towards his staff. Mr. Marriott fired the manager as he didn’t like the manager's attitude.

Similarly, Ken Iverson who transformed Nucor Steel from bankruptcy to one of the most successful steelmakers discusses such an incident in his book "Plain Talk: Lessons from a Business Maverick". One of Nucor's plants was headed by a very smart individual with impressive engineering and management degrees from Ivy League universities. When Mr. Iverson noticed that this individual was not fair to his team, he promptly removed him.

Good companies and leaders care for their people and keenly understand that toxic individuals burden the organization more than what they bring in. If you are looking for another job in such companies just for the sake of getting away from the toxic supervisor, you will be throwing away all the goodwill that you earned and will be starting fresh in another company. Therefore, resist the temptation to move out, and endure the situation patiently while producing outstanding results. You can be sure of things getting better as good companies will address the issue eventually as shown in the above examples.

Views expressed are personal.