Your Turn at Bat

I'm not sure that most people consider the fact they have as much to say as where they work as an employer does. We talk about job hunting and job applications as if we're the ones pitching and it's up to the firm to decide whether or not the ball's worth swinging at. But it's just as appropriate to look at things in the opposite way: Maybe we, as job applicants, are the ones who get to decide whether or not the ball is capable of becoming a solid hit.

(Those who think this analogy is a stretch should understand I'm a Red Sox fan. Few things are stretchier than that.)

Anyway, in an article I posted this morning Leslie Stevens-Huffman writes about considering whether a potential boss is right for you. She notes: "There's a huge correlation between successful employees and their boss's managerial skills." Why?

"Having the right boss does several things for an employee. It's the difference between just putting in time and being committed," says Jim Councelman, vice president of leadership development for Development Dimensions International, a Cleveland, Ohio-based consulting firm that specializes in leadership selection and development.

"There are a variety of studies which show that employees who are putting all of their psychological and emotional energies into the job stay longer and have higher job satisfaction," he says. "Good bosses are able to engage their employees."

Leslie goes on to describe some tactics you can use to, first, figure out what kind of boss you need and, second, to turn the interview process into a two-way conversation (something it should be, but usually isn't.) Today's job market, where everyone seems to bemoan the lack of good accountants, is a good environment to hone what she calls your "boss-election skills."

Selecting Your Ideal Boss [JITM]