Paul Catmur: I may not have been the best boss but I was definitely the top one

The jury has returned the verdict on what it was like to work for me. Photo / 123RF

OPINION:

Last week I mentioned that I'd asked some of my previous staff members to give feedback on what I was like as a boss. I don't claim this to be scientific and no doubt if I'd dug deeper I could have got some really harsh stuff, but to be honest there's enough crap in the world right now to cope with any more stress.

The people I asked had directly reported to me and the nature of creative advertising means that I had to critique their work on an almost daily basis.

This is some of what they told me some time after the dust had settled.

'Many of your bad points and good points were the same'

I guess this is similar to people's reactions to their parents in that the discipline they instil can be a pain at the time but will hopefully pay rewards later. (I don't have kids, though I can confirm that I've been one.)

'A hard taskmaster. Brutally honest'

This may be a polite way of saying "a complete bastard". I wanted people to be the best that they could as this would help both them and of course the company. I'm not always good at sugar coating, but I don't think I was harder on anyone else than myself.

'Intimidating'

Apparently, some people would put off coming to see me until they absolutely had to. On the one hand, it's sad to think that people were scared of seeing me. On the other hand, if they're nervous of seeing me until they were happy with the work, that's maybe not so bad. I think I lacked the charisma that meant people always wanted to please me of their own accord.

'Tough on Juniors'

I unconsciously felt that I should try to instil discipline from the outset. Unless they understood what was expected of them they would struggle in what is a pretty demanding industry. When I started in advertising I had already been working in other jobs for over 15 years and was used to inconvenient requirements like turning up on time despite my hangover, rigorously meeting deadlines and not throwing sickies just because I wanted to go to the cricket. Once I felt that they understood their obligations we could all relax.

'Grammar Nazi'

Of course, I make mistakes myself, as regular readers will gleefully point out, but I try hard to get it right and kick myself when I don't. I didn't mean to be annoying, but the overall standard of English in New Zealand is pretty poor. Now, while most people may be happy with a relaxed attitude, I can assure you that if you are looking to work outside these shores it really helps to be more betterer.

'You announced the Thursday before that we had to work over Easter'

I generally worked longer hours than most around me. While this cost me much of my social life it proved a useful counterpoint to my other inadequacies, and I somehow anticipated the same sort of hair shirt commitment among others. There's currently a general reappraisal of the balance of life underway.

'The three strikes rule'

If I had rejected creative work once, I was fine with the team coming back to me the next day and asking for a rethink. I had little patience for a third time. I have no idea if this was either fair or scientific, but at least people knew what to expect.

'You told me that you may not always be right, but that somebody had to make a call and that you were that somebody'

I still stand by this. I've heard many otherwise decent creative leaders castigated because they couldn't make a decision. I decided that while I might not be good at anything else, at least I could make a decision. Sometimes it was even the right one. As they say in casinos, 'if you're going to f**k up, make sure you f**k up fast'.

'You had favourites'

I was disappointed to hear this. I guess I failed to disguise my human preferences.

'The best teacher I ever had'

I mainly picked the bad bits to write about as they're more interesting, but I was also told I was loyal, compassionate and that my biggest values were integrity and friendship, so it wasn't all bad.

On reflection

I guess things are different now. My obsession with work came at a cost to me but it undoubtedly helped my own career. I hope it didn't damage anyone else. Maybe with help I could have found a gentler way of progressing.

How about you?

I've left the industry now so there's not much I can do other than look back with relief that my shortfalls are no longer an issue. For you, maybe, there's still time to learn so I suggest you look for the opportunity to get some honest feedback. If you think you're too good to bother, you're probably the person that needs it most.