October 16 being National Boss’s Day reminds me of ‘Working Girl’ starring Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford filmed in the 1980s. I like the film so I watched it not once but twice.
‘Working Girl’ is about a young girl starting out in the big bad working world and bosses.
Melanie wore sneakers as she took the train to her office. She then exchanged those sneakers for smart looking shoes once she reached her office.
Like Melanie, I was just starting out in my career path in the 80s and had to depend on the public transport for years. Since the university was situated on a hill, the bus stopped at a point on the highway opposite a pedestrian entrance.
I too wore sneakers for easy walking, dashed across the busy highway and climbed up 123 steps carved against the hill slope, pregnant and carrying an umbrella to shield me from the sun and rain. I knew the number of steps because it was more fun to count the steps then to climb moanfully. I also carried a non-designer bag which contained lecture notes and a pair of court shoes which replaced the sneakers before I stepped into the classroom and started to teach.
Russel H. Ewing (1885-1976) a British journalist said that while there are bosses who create fear, who think they know all and who blame others but never themselves there are also good bosses who recognise the individual’s worth, who make work interesting and who show concern. Insecure and mean bosses tear down their staff in private and in public and even misuse their positions to attain their own desires. I choose to remember only those bosses who showed me mutual respect and knew the meaning of a good boss-staff relationship.
I have worked under many bosses but only three stood out from my 27 years of service.
Boss No. 1 recognised the hard work of her staff. To me she was both a boss and a friend. Even when she was no longer the boss, she never failed to send me a Chinese New Year or a Christmas card. In between cards, she would send me occasional text messages – full of bite and charm- just to keep in touch.
Boss No. 2 was amiable and I knew I could walk into his office before 8 a.m. just to catch up with him on all things that mattered. His personality was such that one would feel as comfortable as talking to a good friend that could be respected and trusted. Whenever I return to Malaysia we still meet up for a cup of teh tarik.
Boss No.3 handled difficult issues with tact and decorum. He guided his staff when they erred and listened to their side of the argument as well. I enjoyed his leadership because being visionary, creative and artistic, he was not afraid to engage in aggressive branding of the department he was in-charge of. If anything, I saw in him an advisory figure who was sure of himself and who emphathised with his staff. He knew his staff’s assets and gave them opportunities to excel.
What made these bosses different?
The key word I believe is humility. Positions come and go. It is only when we are humble that we learn how to treat others right and to esteem others better than ourselves.
So I watched ‘Working Girl’ again three decades later, thanks to satellite television, and I still like it. Like Melanie, I have had my fair share of experiences of good bosses and bad bosses, of promises kept and promises unkept, of loyalty and of betrayal, of being recognised and of being used.
But like the theme song of the movie, ‘Let the River Run’, through it all, I have learnt to run on the water and go through the fog, to stand on a star and blaze a trail of desire through the darkening dawn.
Only to emerge strong.
SOURCE : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES OCT 9 , 2011 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-198503165.html
No comments:
Post a Comment