Child Boss.

If you are like me, you might consider saying something if you saw a parent hit a child, or if you saw a dog locked in a car, with the windows closed. But rarely does anyone ask this question: Would you say something if you saw a child hit a parent? You woldn’t dare, correct?

Recently, I witnessed a young mother and her two young children in the parking lot of a large supermarket with, with what looked like, a two year old boy in their cart and, a 5 year old girl walking beside them.

Suddenly, the five year old pushed her mother so hard in the back, the mom had to hold on more tightly to the cart. When they reached the car, the little girl started yelling at the mom, packages still in the cart, for her to open the door, “now!”

Of course, when I was growing up, I would have gotten a “who do you think you are” and a slap from my mother…but today? Perish the thought?

As I walked to my own car, I could not get the sight out of mind of this spoiled, aggressive, little brat and her innate sense of entitlement. I started to wonder, what is she going to be like in the office in about 15 years? How far in her career will her behavior get her (assuming she gets worse over the years, even with intense personal development training)?

The incident led my thoughts to wondering about the kinds of bosses there are out there, probably as many as there are personalities, right? — There’s the angry boss, the perfectionist boss, the “I just want to be loved” boss, the stab-you-in-the-back boss, the chauvanist boss, the “I’m smarter than my boss” (aren’t I?) boss — and the list goes on.

The type of manager with whom, I’ve most eagerly worked, have been the “fair and balanced” type…those who’d given me the autonomy I needed, those who insisted the work environment be team-oriented, and those who offered support and maybe a little nurturing.

I can’t picture this little girl as the empathetic boss…but if she continues on the path that she’s moving, she’ll become known as the bi*tch boss.