At a project meeting with my younglings today, the conversation turned to what a gargantuan arse my big boss is.
The guy's a 'Divide and Conquer' ruler and plays one person against another so that at the end of the day, he wins. To him, the ends justify the means and he would stop at nothing to achieve what he deems as The Correct Way. You know everyone else is an idiot and he himself has an IQ of 250. And while he has oodles and oodles of EQ, the rest of us have as much feelings as the algae-ridden rock sitting at the bottom of his fishtank.
Narcissistic bastard!
So I had to bite my tongue and not join in the boss bashing. At least not so enthusiastically lah =P Afterall, I am middle-management and can't be seen to be bad-mouthing my superior officer. Not setting a good example really =))
But I just had to tell them this. In spite of all his character flaws (actually who doesn't have them huh?), the guy delivers. And this, at the end of the day, is what matters most to the Big Big Bosses. Mr Bad Guy gets things done and has the results to show for it. So while I certainly don't like him as a person, I do respect him for his ability.
And it is this ability that compels and drives me to call him
Lao Ban day in and day out. I wouldn't have been able to do so with a clear conscience otherwise.
Its not easy for the young ones to understand. Their 'respect' is pretty much based on feel good factors. To them, a genuinely friendly but mediocre leader is better than one that thrives on politiks but dares to slaughter sacred cows in return for change and renewal. So their objectivity becomes clouded and they start to view everything Mr IQ250 says with disdain and suspicion.
They will learn one day, perhaps, that in the real world, Good Guys just don't last.
Rarer still, a boss with a heart of gold but fists of steel.