Two kinds of bosses, Two kinds of employees

At some point in everyone's life, they've worked for a boss. I have come across many different types of bosses, but there are basically two types I feel. I will call two bosses: Boss A and Boss B.



Also at some point, every boss has different kinds of employees. But they also come in two types, basically Employee A and Employee B.

Think of A and B as opposite ends of the spectrum.


Boss A: This boss genuinely cares about his people. People working under Boss A tend to respect this Boss and do things for him out of respect. Boss A tends to take personal responsibility when things go wrong and either try to solve it himself or try to prevent it from happening again. Problem is Boss A can be seen as weak sometimes.

Boss B: This boss may care about his people, but is never too nice. The only time he really cares if it serves him well. His loyalties lie to people who have shown him loyalty to him over the years and to his bosses. But anyone under him is more or less expendable. Usually thinks highly of himself and his equal ranking peers.

Employee A: This kind of employee is usually loyal to the Boss and looks out for him or her. Employee A usually gets along with Boss A but can be known to get along with Boss B for a limited time. Eventually Boss B and employee A will end up splitting, though time varies from months to much much longer. While it is true Employee A and Boss A may split as well, working for Boss A would not be one of the reasons why they are splitting.

Employee B: This employee is usually loyal to himself. He'll look for better pay, better opportunities, etc. Usually a go getter. Employee B may produce good work, but will neither be loyal to Boss A or Boss B. He won't go out of his way to help out either of the bosses because he doesn't really care.

Now that I've described what kind of bosses and employees are out there. What is the point? Which one is better? Well, one may not be necessarily better than the other, but it helps to be aware of the types out there. Also one day work might get hairy and it might be nothing or it may be time to try something different. Hopefully this information will help put things in perspective.