Unless you work by yourself, you're going to have a boss. Even people who you might think don't have bosses, like the CEO of your company, are accountable to someone (the Board of Directors, for example). I've had so many jobs that I've seen everything from great bosses - who could motivate and inspire employees to achieve wonderful things - to terrible bosses - who used threats and screaming in an attempt to get things done. Unfortunately, the good bosses are rarer than you'd think. But most bosses aren't terrible, they're just not as effective as they could be. Since you're likely to have a boss, let's look at what bosses do, categorize the bad ones, and figure out how to work with them all.
You may think that it's your boss's job to manage you. I think it works both ways. You need to manage your boss, too. Not by telling your boss what to do and setting deadlines (which actually isn't the way to manage employees either), but by understanding his goals and personality, aligning your interests with his, and helping him to become successful.
