November 27, 2018 at 8:34 am
You have a really great perspective on this topic Steve. I recently left a situation where I had what many would, and did call a horrible boss. The man was actually not a bad person in the grand scheme of life and he knew his DBA stuff for the most part, he just had a personality that lent to being a bad boss who demotivated his subordinates rather than motivating them. Lucky for me I too have a great boss now (or manager as he likes to be referred) who empowers us to be the best we can be and it has been a great experience so far!
One thing I would say is that for all the mental and emotional stress my horrible boss caused me and my peers, I still find that I do have some respect for the man in the way a young athlete has respect for a horrible/tough coach years later. If nothing else, his poor management style and bad personality did cause me to want to up my game and be a better DBA. And if he happens to read this some day, I wish him all the best now and in the years to come!
December 1, 2018 at 7:49 pm
I've had a couple of excellent bosses, but for the most part I've experienced some really terrible situtations. I worked at a medium size comapny for a number of years. Having my associates degree I decided to try a company where I could work my way up into their IT department. After 2.5 years I got into the department as an operator. A year and a half later I was promoted to Programmer/Analyst. I spent the next 10 years going though the drama of multiple redevelopment attempts. Eventually one of my best bosses I've ever had was pushed out. I was given the option to leave or stay.
They replaced my boss with a man who honestly couldn't program his way out of a bag. He had no managerial experience either, but he was their new Golden Boy. It was amazing. He never understood what I talked about. How he earned a degree, I don't know; but my lowly Associates was always brought up in spite of the fact I fixed so much code over time, improved processes, automated processes, etc.. I worked close to 80 hours a week, but had alot of PTO and was paid well. In 2008 the company started targeting people for layoffs. I had survived 8 of them, had worked under a number of managers (besides the two I mentioned), and survived 2 CTOs. When the new CTO came on he wasn't terribly impressed with my hard work and put me on his hit list. I endured 8 months of what can only be defined as bullying. When I was let go I was so worn down and lacking any confidence in myself that I lived off severance/retirement for 4 years. There weren't many jobs for sometime, I had plenty of savings, and I was totally lacking any self-confidence. My current position is with a small company where I am the only tech person. My experience is just as bad but for their lack of understanding how to utilize their ERP, and how databases/data work. I've tried to educate them but to little avail. I've regained confidence, and love SQL/SQL Server. I'm just hoping as I move on I can find a place of employment where I can utilize my skills, grow, and find a team/boss who cultivate a healthy environment. So I've experienced bad bosses but never realized how denigrating and wearing they can be.
Viewing 2 posts - 16 through 16 (of 16 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply