Boss Does Not Always = Leader

I'm so blessed to have the job that I have now and be surrounded by leaders. My bosses value me as an employee and a person. It's sad to think that anyone else would have to deal with anything less, but so many employees around the world have upper management who may not even care who they are or what they do as long as they make them money.

From previous personal experience and that of others I've come to learn to watch for some red flags that maybe your boss might not be a leader. Starting with the interview, how often do they talk verses you? It should be a conversation so if you walk away feeling like they couldn't have gotten to know you with the amount of talking they did that typically demonstrates how they feel about themselves and their subordinates. At one of my jobs, my first day there was a shouting match which I could hear down the hallway. The hallway had a desk that just so happened to be mine and shared the same space as the bathrooms... Believe me, where you work matters! If employers want you at their company they won't freak out if you ask to see where you'll be working or spend time with the staff.

During the first few weeks, watch your bosses schedule and the time they invest in you. Great leaders give their time to developing other great leaders. Bad bosses will be absent and uninterested in your work.

If I could offer up one piece of advice when encountering bad bosses is that their bad behavior is no excuse for you to be a bad employee. Constantly be identifying ways in which you can rise above. If I decided to react to negativity with negativity, I would start to build bad workplace habits. I would not have the job I have now had I mirrored poor leadership. You know the saying "Dress for the job you want?" In the exact same way, act like the employee you want to be for the job you want.

Even today I struggle with the habits I built in the past. However, being surrounded by good leaders has made me a better person and I'm so grateful to them and God for giving me that chance.

Good luck entry-levelers and call on God because his regular business hours are all day, every day.