It sounds like there should be a clear and obvious answer, but on reflection it’s not just a simple ‘No’.
Relationships are complex, subjective and of the many thousands of people changing jobs with whom I’ve met, the majority are leaving because of their manager and therefore it’s not just anecdotal, it’s statistically a very important criteria to many people in work, but the real question is ‘should it be?’
Selling Ice Cream pleases everyone
In the 25 years of my professional recruitment career, I have had 15 different bosses in three different firms and I did not like over 50% of them, scratch that; they failed to earn my respect through their actions and as a result I did not trust them.
Steve Jobs said ‘if you want to make everyone
happy, don’t be a leader, sell ice cream’. I agree, it’s not important for a Leader to be liked, it’s more important to be respected; and with respect comes trust and loyalty.
I inherited the bosses I did not like when the boss that hired me moved on, either internally or externally.
From personal experience, I would recommend considering key objectives and additional criteria over and above ‘just’ liking or ‘not-liking’ the boss when selecting a new opportunity, because in this consistently volatile market-place bosses change… often! It is risky to base your decision to join an organisation or accept a job offer purely on your future boss, it is worth considering what other factors that make your new job offer appealing.
Take references
It is worth considering taking out your own confidential references and checking out your future employer. Just because you do not personally like the new boss (very subjective), it doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bad manager or leader (objective).
A question worth pursuing is whether the prevailing culture is a product of the things you dislike about your future boss, as this may determine whether your personality and values are a match or will be compromised.
Overall, liking your future boss will of course have an impact on your decision to accept a job offer, this is the case with many people. However, to make the best decision possible I would strongly recommend you make the key decision-making criteria surrounding likeability as objective as you possibly can.
……
Darren Robinson is the Managing Partner at Anderson Wise, an independent local recruitment firm in Luxembourg. www.andersonwise.com
