Hard Boss vs Cool Boss

If there is something that has somewhat marked my life (so far) as a manager, that was the constant struggle between the two predominant types of bosses that are out there: the hard boss, always focused on results, top performance and obsessed with being #1 and the cool boss, the one that cares and combines success with wellness in a weird but pleasant mixture.

As far as my experience goes there are many ways of leading and/or managing a team. Sometimes one of the two functions I just mentioned is not needed but to some people, being a manager and not a leader is not possible. It works the other way too, some people just do not want to lead but rather manage. Both are ok I guess and it doesn’t make you better or worse at it.

Still…when it comes to getting things done, motivating the team and pushing forward the best approach is the one that works and that is when being too rigid or tight might not do the trick. Remember that not everyone responds the same way to the same stimulus and you need to keep an open mind to different approaches to the same problem. Some are faster faster to respond, some just take a bit longer.

In any case, I’ve set my mind to work in between both worlds and thus determined that my best way of doing the job is moving between both worlds I know the best: The hard and the cool suits.

Here is a quick reference guide for each type based on my experience. See if your style fits there.

One thing I can tell you for sure: no matter which one you pick, it’s better if you don’t wear the same hat for too long or you might end up becoming that hat.