Your boss is terrible.
She talks so harshly to you. The disdain and lack of respect makes you feel small and disempowered. There’s not much said when you do a job well, but plenty of criticism if things don’t go just right … and I mean exactly according to plan.
And woe unto you if you look after your own needs, you procrastinate the least little bit, or … god forbid … you make an actual mistake. You get absolutely berated.
She doesn’t do much in the way of providing you with the training and continuing education you need in order to really thrive at work. Whatever you do receive seems to be an afterthought, rather than being an integral part of a well-thought-out personal development plan.
And when you need some real guidance in terms of setting goals and priorities, and strategically managing your time … forget about it.
And so you find yourself just kind of floating through your days from task to disconnected task, not really making the most of your time, talent, or skills.
It’s a shame your boss can’t be more enlightened and just plain nicer.
Wait … what’s that?
You’re self-employed! WHAT?!!!
You’re the boss of you!
Whoa … how’d you get such a lousy boss?
You mean that’s how YOU talk to YOU?
You mean that’s how little YOU value YOUR personal and professional development?
You mean YOU don’t make the effort to set goals, establish priorities, and manage YOUR time so that you make the most of your skills and talents?
What’s that about?
It sounds as if you’re treating yourself far worse than you would ever dream of treating an employee.
And, think about it. What would you do if you worked in a business with an actual real life boss who treated you this way?
Quit? Complain bitterly? Lose all enthusiasm for the job and become disengaged?
Yeah, well, what does that tell you?
If you’re less than thrilled with how things are going in your business / your practice, maybe you need to change the way you relate to yourself … your most valuable employee.
Maybe you need to start treating yourself at least as well as you would anyone else who worked for you.
If you’re upset with yourself, have no clear sense of direction, and are neglecting your own needs, maybe you need to make it a point to really examine what’s wrong with this picture … and re-paint it.
What would that look like?
Well, we’ve already kind of laid it out.
You’d talk nicely and positively to yourself and never beat yourself up for your perceived shortcomings.
You’d look for those things you’d done well, congratulate yourself and celebrate your successes … even if you still aren’t perfect or haven’t yet reached your ultimate goal.
You’d give yourself the training, support, and tools you need to be the best you can be, and not think of continuing education as an expensive luxury … something you’ll get to “some day, one day.”
You’d take the time to sit down with yourself and do some strategic planning and prioritization, rather than running around putting out fires or focusing on non-critical activities.
In other words, you’d be a great boss!
Now, I know many of you are already doing a fine job of managing yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back.
But I write this, because I’m continually struck by how many of the self-employed people I see make horrible bosses.
If you recognize yourself in the description of the bad boss above, it’s time to stop and really consider … how do you want to treat you?
As a highly valued and indispensible employee who’s deserving of respect, encouragement, investment, and guidance?
Hmmm … sounds like a good start.