10 reasons why a bad boss may be good for your career

The chances are that you have had at least one bad boss in your work history, someone who sticks in your mind for either the way they worked or in the way that they interacted with people. Ironically, that bad boss may have brought out the best in you.

A bad boss can affect your health (mental and physical), destroy your work ethic and affect your home life, but the experience may have made you who you are today. Here are 10 reasons why a bad boss may be good for your career:

1. ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ – a cliché, but a cliché with substance. Dealing with a bad boss builds character and tests your capabilities.
2. It teaches you how to be a good boss by showing you what not to do and inspires you to develop your leadership skills.
3. It helps you prioritise what is really important for you and your career – a job with a bad boss but great pay, does it cut it?
4. It teaches you self-control and patience.
5. Having a bad boss teaches you to be resourceful – no budget or resources allocated for your project? You will find a way to get it done.
6. It puts things into perspective – some things are just not quite as bad as having a bad boss, when you think about it.
7. It teaches Zen-like calm – when a bad boss is pushing you to breaking point you learn the power of several deep, calming breaths to get you through.
8. It helps you appreciate the good stuff.
9. It provides an opportunity to improve your communication. You can no longer rely on the ease that comes with a good boss. You have to be shrewd and think before you speak.
10. It makes you realise you are more capable than you think you are, especially when you have to step up your game and lead.

In the modern workplace, leaders and managers set the tone for the organisation as a whole and provide the foundations for performance and results. Click here to view the characteristics of a good manager that positively influences employee performance.