Bosses Get Good Grades

The School of Business at The College of William & Mary found that workers rated their bosses either the highest or next-to-highest on six competencies the business school research has shown to be the greatest indicators of career success. Of the six competencies – being flexible, communicating with impact, solving problems, demonstrating integrity, building relationships and focusing on results – demonstrating integrity scored an “A”, while “B” was the most frequent response for the others.

In addition, according to the school, more than half of respondents (52%) said they could not do their boss’ jobs better than their bosses do. Twenty five percent said they could, while 22% were undecided. Moreover, workers would not even like to try to do the job better. Sixty six percent of respondents said they wouldn’t want their boss’ job, while 21% said they would like to try being the boss and 13% were undecided. Men were more likely to both feel able to do a better job than their bosses (33%) and want their boss’ job (32%) than women (21% and 15%, respectively).

Sixty nine percent of the respondents said their bosses do not expect more from them than they do themselves, and 68% said their bosses show appreciation for what they do. In spite of all the positive responses, though, 85% said they would choose a pay raise over a better relationship with their boss.

More information on the survey can be obtained by emailing Gail Kent, Chief Marketing Officer, at gail.kent@business.wm.edu .