Why Under Achievers Blame the Lack of Hero Bosses

Being an employer is a fraught business – if only because of the endless articles, opinion pieces and guides about how to be the ideal boss.

We’re told that if bosses have the right stuff, their teams will be motivated, inspired, energised and otherwise amped-up to perform business heroics.

Even the language of great bossdom paints epic pictures.

Only workplace leadership heroes can expect to see their colleagues go the extra mile, walk over hot coals, pull out all the stops, put everything on the line – or even give up their first born or sell their grannies – to achieve those elusive business goals.

So, if no-one has ever flogged their nana to impress you or offered up a pink, squalling bundle of joy in lieu of other results, then hero bossdom maybe isn’t coming your way.

Might all of this even be a teeny bit discouraging? Against that kind of sweeping prose, who’d want to be the middle-of-the-road boss leading an ordinary team, to modest performance in a boringly steady fashion?

Of course we all want someone to look up to. Someone to provide clear leadership, wisdom, inspiration, praise and success. Likewise there are bosses, managers and leaders whose personal failings, character flaws and lack of abilities see them drag down everyone else around them.

Don’t be duped though. While most bosses are more humdrum than hero they’re also far more likely to be more everyday than evil. The reality is that most bosses are pretty much like, well, you.

If you are looking for a hero boss to inspire you to feats of giddying business derring-do, then chances are what you’re really looking for are excuses to justify your own shortcomings.

Real performance is personal. Don’t do it for your boss, do it for yourself.

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