This is the hiring time for all fresh engineers and MBAs. Every year they join the corporate in the month of April, May, and June.

With lot of expectations, energy, vigor, optimism and with good academic and training background they are recruited from colleges and universities to the corporate.

These young educated people have tremendous potentials and they can perform at their peak performance provided they are given a very conducive environment where they can perform brilliantly.

These fresh recruits look out for Conducive Corporate Environment, and major and most important player (THE FIRST BOSS) plays an important role to make these young people to work and perform at their best.

They are the managers(First Boss) to whom the new recruits report, they play most pivotal role in building and shaping the new recruits careers and help them to build them as leaders in future.

The role the First Boss is very important in setting directions , making and shaping these young people’s mind, careers and individual goals along with the corporate goals.

Games the First Boss should play with these young and fresh graduates just coming out from colleges.

1. Responsibility and Challenge: The first Boss is an important person in everyone’s life, as we commonly say first impression is the best impression the first boss makes lasting impression in the fresh recruits’ mind. You are the leader, manager, motivator, mentor, friend, philosopher, and guide to these young men. Your responsibility is to make them true leader and a performer in the long run. Undoubtedly this very challenging task and a stupendous responsibility to become the first boss in some ones life.


2. Task and Target Oriented: Right from the day one makes them accountable for the job they have been assigned for. Be candid and polite to them and make them understand that they have been recruited for these specific task and should be ready to and willing to go for hard work in order to achieve the targets that they has been assigned for. In a professionally managed organization performance is the only thing that matters. Be task an oriented Boss not a task master. When specific targets are given along with time deadlines they may feel little bit nervous not for achieving the targets within that deadline it’s the First Boss job to show them the process how to achieve the targets within the deadlines. Make them successful because their success is your success.


3. Teacher and Coach: The First Boss right from the day one make the business process understand to these young recruits, it involves lot of teaching and coaching for these young resources.


4. Power house of Encouragement: The First Boss is the source of encouragement, he is the person who will break all the fears and doubts in the mind of these your people, enable them to open up their mind which can be a bonanza. Encourage them to come out with new ideas of doing the job and help them to do the “Out Of The Box Thinking”.


5. Appreciation Catalyst: The First Boss should be loud in their appreciations even for little achievements that these young guys make.


6. Can Do Attitude Initiator: Appreciations by First Boss is like wining first 100 meters flat race in schools, it increases the confidence level in these young minds and the “Can Do” attitude starts developing. After they accomplish small task and targets, slowly give them additional responsibility and bigger task and targets, make use of the “Can Do” attitude artfully.


7.Hand Holding If Necessary: The First Boss should never hesitate to roll up his sleeves and make his hand dirty to teach complex things to these young recruits, once he teaches them his job becomes easier. Never get irritated even if they ask you very stupid questions. Remember your parents did hand holding while making you walk. Remember handholding is a part of mentoring; they remain obligated and indebted to you throughout their life.


8. Delegate and Encourage Them to Take Decisions: The First Boss should delegate little power and ask them to take small decisions. Look out carefully for the outcome of the decisions if it’s good give them appreciations, if the outcome is poor sit with them to analyze where it went wrong and what precaution they should take while making the next decisions. Don’t shout at them if the decision is wrong they will close them up get back in to their cocoon. After all decision making is the most important thing in business. Help them to make good decision makers.


9. Respect Leads to Responsibility: The First Boss should never ever disrespect these young recruits’ .Respect works like magic. If you respect these young recruits they not only reciprocate but automatically take responsibility, and once they take full responsibility they start delivering the goods. Results give confidence, and confidence building is a step by step method. Delivering results becomes a habit. Mutual Respect is a ‘Win-Win” situation.


10. Never Steal Credits: The First Boss should never be a credit stealer, remember these young people are very smart they understand every thing, if you have a 360 degree appraisal system working in your firm they will fix you up then. Credit stealing by a boss is like digging his own grave in the professional organization.


11. Don’t involve them in Office Politics: Every office has got office politics; the First Boss should never use these young recruits as pawn in the office politics that he may be involved in. These young guys will come to know office politics and lobbying in due course .Office politics reduces energy and in turn reduces efficiency. Here come the maturity calm and composed character strength of the First Boss.


12. Close Monitoring: The First Boss should keep a strong vigil about the quality of learning, engagement and the involvement in the work that these young recruits are doing. Keep always the communication channel open. Make the communication is an adult -adult mode.


13. Encourage Them to Do Self Audit And Introspection: The First Boss should make sure that the young recruits are making the “Self Audit” after first ninety days of work and correcting themselves on the basis of their audits. Ask them to find out their own mistakes/drawbacks and remedial measures which they need to overcome them. Give them suggestions about the blind spots which you may find by using Johary window.


14. Make Them “Think Big”: The First Boss should be able to make these young guys to “Think Big”. So he has to “Think Big” in order made others “Think Big”. If you can make them “Think Big” they can achieve big by’ Thinking Big” is a practice and it stays lifelong.


15. Never Be Afraid of Smart and Intelligent Recruits: Last but not the least the First Boss may come across young recruits much smarter and intelligent than him, please don’t get afraid of them, don’t think them as your threat. Smart people working in your team can make you and your team smarter.

These are all old saying and observations; it’s just like old wine in the new bottle.

One interesting survey was conducted by an agency and it was found that 47% of the employees don’t leave the organization but actually leave their Boss.

It’s easier said that done. It’s true the impact of the FIRST BOSS lasts long.

Just after academics’s entering into the new unknown big corporate world is a transformation stage, where a professionally qualified student has to perform and deliver, some perform and excel and some don’t. With my experience and observations I have written this topic after working in various firms watching many bosses and training and building many careers by being a boss.

Some BOSS you want to remember throughout your life and some you don’t want to remember at all, and they are your nightmare.



About The Author: Debashish Brahma is a professional manager in an IT Networking firms executing turnkey projects. Worked with Multitech Systems, Rolta India Ltd, Zenith Computers Ltd .An alumni of IISWBM, Calcutta. Can be contacted : debashish.bramha at gamil dot com and is the owner of the Blog http://debashishbramha.blogspot.com

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