Hey you, hard-working people, regardless of your profession, stature, or rank! I am talking to all of you! Beware of "NICE" BOSSES!
You know the type – he always smiles at you, tells you jokes (and laughs loudly himself), asks about your family (sometimes even during first interviews), says "thank you" at the end of the day, declares that he wants everyone who works for him to be happy, claims to keep your opinion in high regard.
This is all BULLSHIT!!! This boss is a liar and a hypocrite! Don't think for a second that because he acts like that on the surface, he really cares and will do right by you in terms of things that really matter, i.e. create material (compensation, benefits, working space) and moral (respect, recognition) stimuli for you to work harder and feel satisfied with your own performance!
In fact, this faux exterior should be taken as a first sign of a shitty character. There is an old proverb that applies perfectly here: "He makes a very soft bed that will be hard to sleep in." The only person such a boss cares about is himself! At the end of the day, all that huggy, phony warmth is just for him and him alone. And because people like that lie to themselves the same way they lie to others, he goes home honestly believing that he is a swell guy and a wonderful boss. He simultaneously pats himself in the back and jerks himself off.
But when it comes to serious, important staff… This is the guy who will fight you tooth and nail for every penny of raise or bonus you want to give your direct subordinates at the end of the year. It doesn't matter to him that you only want to reward those who applied themselves the hardest, grew, learned, developed, and that you keep it all within the budget. He'd rather double his own withholdings (for being so wonderful!) than reinforce the merit. In fact, he will say, "Didn't we pay for her plane tickets when she went to her grandmother's funeral?" Yes, we did – you suggested it to be "nice." So, now you think that was in lieu of the annual performance bonus?
And this is the guy who will reply to every great proposal from the members of his executive team, writing the exclamation-point emails: "Thank you!" "Great idea!" "Brilliant!" But he will never green-light the actual implementations. You will see the mean gleam in his eyes every time the life proves you right or someone on the outside of the business confirms that you understand it much better than he does. If that happens, he will enter a crazy cycle, competing with you all the time, even though he is the boss and, therefore, already won by default.
I believe that the best working environments are created not by cuddly fakeness, but by indiscriminate fairness, accommodation of professional growth, and respect of achievements (the principles I myself exercise). If that's impossible to have, I prefer an honest brute instead of a "nice" hypocritical bastard. In this economy (or, as I call it "new reality") only a few of us get lucky and find "better" jobs. The rest must tolerate whatever hateful things they are forced to experience. And that's Ok (there is no such a thing as a "perfect" job anyway), as long as you face the reality with the full understanding of the situation and don't get fooled by appearances.
The Frustrated CFO 