I have a gut dislike for authority figures.

[Morgan22]

Low level manager myself. I like it when the team questions why are we doing something the way we do. Or even why we are doing something. This has lead to discussions on how we can make the job easier, and even eliminated some unnecessary tasks.

And I did have one member on the team that I inherited that ended up being laid off. Reason: this person was not a cooperative person with any sort of authority, and others on the team avoided interacting with them if they could. So when it came time for layoffs this person was at the top of the list.

 

[bolt]

That psychological mindset is either rewarded by goal based employment structures, rewards & incentives...... Or not.

As one reply acknowledged one succumb's to authority the minute they expected a paycheck.
jmho

Good luck & Best wishes....

 

[MRG]

I had a pretty good time at w*rk. I genuinely enjoyed what I did for many years anyhow. I considered myself an asset and there were a couple of leaders* I didn't want to w*rk for luckily another opportunity always opened up.
Why would I contribute to a leaders success if they didn't care about mine? Makes no sense if you can find someone who has better ethics, support, team building....

I moved my retirement date, or canceled my OMY, because of a sh*tty VP who was afraid of the CIO. They both were RIFFed within a year; couple of "yes" people who couldn't find a clue if you handed it to them.

*Recently saw a comment one of these idiots made about another manager's obituary recently published on FB. "I must be confused I thought Billy Bob died 7 years ago". Yeah, his obituary took a while to compile.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I was self employed for 30 years and my boss was tougher on me than anyone else I ever worked for. I still get mad at him 5 years after retiring, never gave me a day off, paid me peanuts and kept me up all night. He didn't give me a day off when my son was born. He made me come back to work the day of my dad's funeral. Many times I worried til I through up ....I'd never work for him again. Working for him almost killed me.


But after 30 years I could RE.... I still wouldn't work for him again.

 

[G8tr]

I've had only two managers who I would follow if they left the company. The rest of them were: (a) a-holes, with some being downright unethical, (b) political sycophants more interested in their own careers, or (c) incompetent cowards. Interestingly, as more competent managers left, each of my former companies ran themselves into the ground.

I say this in hindsight, as I was young and naive, believing wholesale in what my mangers told me during my annual reviews. It's now pretty clear that there were varying degrees of gaslighting going on....

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

He's leaning toward a state university, but it's almost a waste for someone from a $25K a year school not to go on to an institute of higher learning.

Did you really mean to inelegantly denigrate state schools? Or was this an inartful turn of phrase?

 

[RobbieB]

I've had good bosses and bad ones. The good was more than the bad. Like 75-25.

And the good news is eventually both "bad bosses" were fired. There is justice.

It took a long time though...

 

[G8tr]

For bad managers to be fired it requires their bosses to notice and take action. Unfortunately, they likely hired those bad managers and it would reflect poorly on them to be seen as having made a hiring mistake. Other reasons might be nepotism, favor trading, ability to replace headcount, etc.

I've learned the hard way that there are 2 sides to an issue with a bad manager, the manager's side and the outside. So when I recently recognized a bad manager (one playing politics by stifling my career in favor of someone else who would make her look good), I got a better offer and left. For some reason she was surprised I chose to leave.

I've had good bosses and bad ones. The good was more than the bad. Like 75-25.

And the good news is eventually both "bad bosses" were fired. There is justice.

It took a long time though...

 

[foxfirev5]

I fight authority and authorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEwK69LXjQity always wins

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I fight authority and authority always wins

No doubt about that, Foxfire. Here's one back at you.

On the j*b I was halfway up the management pyramid at one point, so some people answered to me. Those were the people whose opinions I cared about. And I made sure they knew that because the work we did hinged more on them than on me.

I'm sure everybody has a "devil wears Prada" story ... I guess I was in a foul mood yesterday and needed to hear some dissatisfaction. Thanks to all for delivering.

 

[LRDave]

At my last employer one was considered a good team player if to the command: Jump, the question was: how high?

If the question was: why? one was not a proper team player.
Most of the time I asked, why?

While never a fan of Timothy Leary, I liked his slogan of question authority. BTW I think he stole the slogan from Benjamin Franklin.

Socrates?

I was a fan of Timothy Leary (in a way).... He and his team mixed with the Merry Pranksters like water and oil lol.....

 

[ncbill]

I've got a nephew that's graduating in May from a very competitive private high school. He's leaning toward a state university, but it's almost a waste for someone from a $25K a year school not to go on to an institute of higher learning.

I told him that if I had it to do over again, I'd look to avoid the corporate grind. There's nothing worse than meeting lofty monthly objectives only to have next years' objectives substantially increased out of sight. And somehow, we'd do the impossible.

We have a university close by that has a full commercial pilot program that's relatively well priced. I told the kid to go there and come out with a conditional ATP flight rating at age 22.

Or join the military & get that flight training for free...like my kid.

 

[indiajust]

I had one horrifically bad boss. Former algerian rebel. Used machine gun noise every day for people and ideas he did not like. Cheated on company soccer team. It was a management catastrophe that he took advantage of. (don't get me started on so-called "conflict" management)
Most were too busy to meddle. One or two excellent among them. Engineering and telco was a largely collaborative enterprise. Those who attempted command and control ultimately failed.
I don't miss the rats that won the rat race.

 

[REWahoo]

Or join the military & get that flight training for free...like my kid.

Didn't he have to get a degree first? And then there is that pesky requirement to serve XX years in the military after getting his wings...

 

[catii]

Is anyone else here with me? Agin' me?

A little of both. My first job out of college was with a major petrochemical company, with a boss who seemed to know his stuff. Then, a year later, part of the processing system blew up (literally!), & although I had never even worked on it, I got thrown under the bus. With several million in damages, the police got involved, & it was only my written log books that showed I had never been involved. My boss was fired, & they wanted to promote me, but I departed.

Next job as a senior engineer was with a major electronics company, where I had already forgotten more than my new boss knew, but I tried to support him, anyway. A year later, a major glitch, several deaths, & again my log books saved me from a probable prison term.

One more try, this time as a senior manager with the feds, & I had learned my lesson - I quit before more shibai hit the fans! Started & ran my own successful computer consulting company for more than 30 years, & made damn sure I didn't treat my employees the way I had been treated!

 

[MRSPOCK]

I have worked for BigComany Inc for 30+ years. There are some great leaders who have looked after me but there are also some Executive sociopaths that can make your life miserable. I am now 60 and really don't have to worry so much even about the sociopaths as I could retire and go consult. I do what I think is best for the company and beg forgiveness when one of the executives goes off their meds and gives me a hard time. It has almost become a sport. It is a great time to really do what is best for my people and the company and not worry about the sociopath's agenda.

 

[Koogie]

I'm so good with authority that I had to quit 18 years ago and start my own company...

The boss is still a jerk but at least he lets me keep most of the profits I make..

 

[meleana]

I have had some nice bosses but many were egomaniacs and control freaks

. I preferred to work independently as part of a team, but still independent.

Glad I don’t have to deal with any of it anymore.

 

[finnski1]

I have had some nice bosses but many were egomaniacs and control freaks

. I preferred to work independently as part of a team, but still independent.

Glad I don’t have to deal with any of it anymore.

Just have to deal with the 30 or 40 inches of snow you got!

 

[meleana]

Just have to deal with the 30 or 40 inches of snow you got!

Ha! Ha! 3 feet! Love snow now that we do not have to drive in it!

In fact we did our driveway and path to the propane tanks and helped our neighbor do hers and also we committed to doing another neighbors- friends- who are not here full time yet for this year. Hubby uses the blower and I do the shoveling of the excess and the porches.

Great exercise! Last night we had a pound of pasta for dinner after we were out working on it the entire day!

 

[albundyz]

I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 34 years straight, here in California. I always felt I was overpaid. This afforded me a comfortable lifestyle. Feeling that way, I always thought " if they're gonna pay me this salary..... when they say 'jump', I say 'how high?' it was easy for me to be a team player.

They also had these ridiculous "team building" days. THAT was so ridiculous, THAT was my hardest day at work. Seemed like a tremendous waste of time, but maybe some people needed it.

 

[PointBreeze]

At work, I never had a real problem with authority. We all have a boss or bosses... I even respected most of them. What I had/have a problem with is incompetence, and/or rude and abusive bosses/leaders.... And there is plenty of that "everywhere" I look. And speaking of HR, I saw them do some things that IMO, were just plain wrong/unfair, base on the information I had.

A lot of people are in positions for the wrong reasons.

+1

Very well put!

 

[Mr Gadget]

I always felt that most people rose to their level of incompetence. I did, became a manager and realized that I sucked, so I retired early. They've been paying me to stay away ever since, it's nice.

 

[JJpop]

So all authority figures are a problem for you. If you were in charge what brilliant dynamic would you create ? You do understand someone has to do it, right? Quite immature to be honest.

 

[Pellice]

I didn't mind authorities over me, but I always lived with a basic unease and anxiety about their power. I knew that there were currents and decisions flowing where I myself was not a consideration, but might nevertheless severely impact me, no matter my performance. I disliked the powerlessness. But on the other hand, the job was more stable than most were - and I had a union. I never needed it, but some did.