I’m at an age when some of my peers are becoming bosses of their organisations. I’ve recently chatted to three who admit to feeling confused. When they were underlings, they knew what their tasks were. But now they wonder: what is a boss meant to do all day?
Being Generation X-ers, they suffer from imposter syndrome, are somewhat in awe of their staff and don’t want to run around shouting at them. One of my friends has concluded: “There isn’t much concretely that I can do in our business without causing accidents.”
He now takes long lunches and sometimes goes home at 4pm. His management motto, which he keeps secret, is: “Don’t just do something — stand there!”