Part 2

The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and True Stories for Succeeding as the Chick-in-Charge
by Caitlin Friedman, Kimberly Yorio

(Page 2 of 3)

Keep The Personal, Personal and Never Let Them See You Sweat

This is a tough one. No matter how bad it gets, no matter what kind of a day you're having, you absolutely, positively cannot freak out. It doesn't matter if your car died in the middle of the interstate on the way to work, or that you just found out your husband has been having an affair. Your personal problems should not come into the workplace. At Ann's first job as an assistant, her boss was trying to adopt a baby. She had a special cell phone just for potential birth mothers to call. When her boss was in a meeting, Ann was required to man the baby phone. If a potential birth mother called, Ann would have to chase down her boss. If her boss couldn't be disturbed, she would have to interview the potential birth mother and try to schedule a time for a callback. Ann was honored at the amount of trust put in her by her boss, but scared to death that if she messed up the baby phone, not only was she jeopardizing her job, she could potentially cause her boss to lose the baby she was so desperately trying to get. While adopting a baby was obviously the priority for her boss, it was unfair to make it Ann's responsibility.

The Buck Stops with You

The team's problems are now your problems - individually and collectively. As a matter of fact, everyone's problems become your problems. If a member of your group has a sick child and can't be there for the ten o'clock meeting with the biggest client, then you have to figure out a way to cover for her without the client ever knowing. If your top account executive loses the biggest account, and your department won't make its numbers, then you will have to find a replacement account or shrink the team to cover the shortfall. And at the very least, you will have to take the heat from your management. If someone on your team opens an e-mail from her boyfriend that infects your entire office with a virus, erasing all your records from the last five years, then you and the IT department have a very big problem. No more hiding until the storm blows over. It will be your responsibility to mobilize the team, board up the windows, and evacuate.

Discipline, Write-Ups, And the Pink Slip

Delivering bad news is never easy; deciding to severely impact someone's livelihood by terminating them because they can't cut the mustard, just plain sucks. We've devoted almost an entire upcoming chapter to the f-word, firing.

The Ugly

Nowhere To Go But Down

With each step you climb up the corporate ladder, the farther down you will go if you fall off. You will exist in constant fear of living up to expectations (although the rest of the group shouldn't know it), getting the job done effectively, and accomplishing the team's goals. The higher you go, the more you're under scrutiny from the ones beneath you who think they can do your job better and the ones above you who think they are paying you too much. If you don't create positive relationships from the get-go, those go-getters will take every opportunity to prove that they are more suited to your job. We're not suggesting you become paranoid, but suggest that you remain aware of the changing dynamics of your senior position. In an upcoming chapter, we will explore why management experts recommend forging relationships with those above, below and equal to you in the organization.

The Rap Sheet: Celluloid Bitch Bosses

KILL BILL (2003) - Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii, the Evil Crime Boss of Tokyo's Underworld. When one of her peers questions her leadership, she cuts his head off without missing a beat.

Lesson: You need to have an open door policy for all your employees so they can speak their minds. Firing or reprimanding someone just for disagreeing with you is unacceptable.

DISCLOSURE (1994) - Demi Moore as Meredith Johnson. She comes on to her employee, then acts like he sexually harassed her. Evil ensues through lies and cover-ups.

Lesson: Never, ever, ever, ever hit on or flirt with an employee, and never use sex to leverage your power. Granted, Demi's problems in this movie go deeper than that, but your own sexuality should never come into play in the workplace.

WORKING GIRL (1988) - Sigourney Weaver as Katharine Parker. Steals her employee's idea, then gets it in the end when her employee steals her life.

Lesson: Never take credit for a coworker's or subordinate's hard work. You'll look like a bitch and lose the trust of your employees. Not to mention you might find yourself as the target of a good case of revenge.

TRUTH OR DARE (1991) - Madonna as herself. In this documentary of the material girl, she is revealed as the worst kind of boss. She exerts a sort of maternal control over her dancers, going from being their best friend to being a total bitch.

Lesson: Bipolar Betty has no place in the office. You have to remain consistent, loyal, and unbiased with all your employees no matter how badly they screw up.

Copyright © 2006 by Caitlin Friedman

About the Author

Caitlin Friedman is a public relations and marketing professional with more than twelve years of consumer, food and beverage, publishing, and television-production experience. In 2001, she partnered with Kimberly Yorio to form YC Media, a full-service public relations and marketing firm based in downtown Manhattan.

Kimberly Yorio has forged a reputation as a keen marketer specializing in the development of strategic publicity and promotions campaigns for cookbooks, restaurants, chefs, and other food-related personalities and products.