Boss four:
Interview: he just fell short of shooting me
Learning curve: no excuses, deliver now, I don’t care how
Terms: he had no control over this process; he was dissatisfied with the perks he got
Non-work interaction: this was a reserve of the favourites
Discipline: petty at best; all the trivia were documented in your employee file. Reprimanded you anytime, anyplace, anyhow and shouted you down at your excuses.
Motivation: you never get it right, threatened to get rid of me all the time, till I got rid of myself. He lowered my self-esteem thoroughly.
More: a micro manager at best, he had to know every call you made or email you wrote. What you said, the response and why you did not ask this or that. You had to account for every single second of your day. He was untrusting and tracked my every move. “JP, how come you are not in your desk”, he would ask often. One day I was in the gents and I answered, “I am in the holy cubicle”. The uncontrollable noises just proved a point.
Senior: Boot licked. Blamed his juniors for all failures and would put you in the firing line when with his seniors.

Boss five:
Interview: formal, voice of reason during the interview (some interviewers die to strip interviewee naked)
Learning Curve: patient, believed in my approach to work and adopted it with others
Terms: reasonable
Non-work interaction: None
Discipline: liberal and was easy to get away with petty issues as long as you performed
Motivation: it is your job, we pay you to do exactly that!
More: He made us feel secure. He valued my skills, poached me when he changed jobs.
Senior: He didn’t give a damn about them as long as his section performed; he stood his ground when his team was blamed.

Boss six:
Interview: formal, warned me not to be too imposing going by my demands during the process
Learning curve: impatient and unsupportive during this time. It took him one and a half months to get me necessary resources.
Terms: pushed that I get less than what I deserved in the company job scales
Non-work interaction: None. No employee was within his social league. He made this clear except for an intern who was studying in the US
Discipline: Weird! Made me send an email every morning I reported to work till I discovered scheduled emails
Motivation: unrewarding, took all the credit and had a superiority complex. Blocked a pay rise I had tirelessly negotiated.
More: Impressive with an open-door policy (the door was always open) and his empathic nature. (I just needed to tell him I am tired and he will give me an off-had to work extra hours afterwards to meet deadlines)
Seniors: Made us believe the seniors were good, hones and infallible despite evidence to the contrary and the way the seniors often belittled him.