Fifth in a Series.

Would you characterize your boss as touchy-feely? Does he/she know details about the personal life of everybody in the office and the names of everyone’s spouse and kids? Does your boss have a difficult time saying no to anyone — about anything? Are company rules sometimes broken because your boss allows for exceptions? Are you expected to attend seemingly endless numbers of training programs and often required to report back on what you learned for everyone else’s benefit? Are you strongly suggested to attend birthday parties, holiday celebrations, awards banquets, and other social occasions at your workplace? If so, you may work for a “Water” Boss.

Water Bosses are truly people-persons. They put the needs of the individual before the needs of the organization. Like Air Bosses who see opportunities, meanings and relationships but dislike dealing with employees, Water Bosses see those same possibilities but assess them for their impact on employees. They will change policies, processes, and procedures in the blink of an eye, if they believe they negatively impact the personal and professional development of their employees.

Water Bosses believe that high morale is critical to an effective organization and must constantly be nurtured. Does your team hold lots and lots of meetings? How about off-site team building sessions or weekend Zoom calls? Water Bosses spend time designing opportunities for employees to communicate with each other, identify impediments to success, and enhancing esprit de corps.

Often, Water Bosses will delegate the administration and management of policies and procedures to assistants or deputies. This allows time for them to handle people issues personally. Their inability to withhold assistance from needy employees often results in longer working hours for themselves and their staff. This can include expectations for working overtime, on weekends, and even on some holidays. If you are unwilling to work long hours, you may have a problem working with your Water Boss.

Water Bosses are almost Victorian in their views of integrity, honesty and professionalism. Although they thrive in dealing with individuals, the employee who lies, steals from the organization, or acts unprofessionally, especially in front of clients, is typically never forgiven and typically dismissed, transferred, or assigned low-level tasks.

How to Become More Effective in Working with a Water Boss? 10 Hints!

1) Volunteer for training and other skill-building opportunities. Water Bosses believe a critical component of their job is to identify and support strategies for enhancing the growth and skills of the workforce;

2) Realize that any decision by your Water Boss will include an assessment of its impact to employees. Water Bosses will always consider how employees are positively or negatively impacted by their decisions;

3) Be an advocate for your team, division, department, and organization. Water Bosses strongly believe that employees should appreciate how their company plays a key role in their personal development;

4) Be a team player. Water Bosses are sensitive to the personal needs of the workforce and believe employees who assist others and volunteer to support organizational projects add tremendous value;

5) Volunteer for projects that involve the new hire orientation or the in-service training of current employees. Water Bosses love trainings of every kind and appreciate the efforts of current employees to assist in supporting their colleagues;

6) Anticipate that the personal requests of some employees will be granted while others will not. Water Bosses rarely refuse genuine requests for help, if they have the power to give it. Sometimes they don’t;

7) In any proposal or suggestion, include its impact on employees and the working environment. Water Bosses do not rely solely on data, statistics, and traditional measurement models. They will expect any recommendation or plan to include a discussion of both positive and negative impacts to the workforce;

8) Follow organizational policies, procedures and practices. Water Bosses will view you as persona non grata if they believe you are gaming a system that provides all employees with career-enhancing developmental opportunities and benefits;

9) Expect to put in extra working hours on weekends and/or holidays due to promises made by your Water Boss to another part of the organization. Water Bosses believe that their team, division, or department is part of a larger organizational team and that employees, as team members, must sacrifice at times in order to achieve success; and,

10) Never lie, cheat or steal from the organization! Water Bosses believe such negative behaviors are personally vile and will ruin company credibility and reputation. Water Bosses will never again fully trust an employee who breaks such trust.

Still Having Problems?

As your awareness of temperament increases, you will begin to appreciate the strengths that other Dominant temperaments bring to the workplace. The road to more effectively connecting with your Water Boss begins with the realization that he/she brings many abilities and skills to your organization (many that you do not bring!).

Water Bosses provide personal connections between fellow staff and employees. They keep a sharp eye on how existing policies, procedures, processes, and practices impact the personal and professional lives of the workforce. They are effective negotiators and wonderful advocates and defenders of their team to critics. They support training and human development efforts and, when time allows, will actively participate in them.

Organizational morale and harmony are of critical importance and Water Bosses will go out of their way to ensure such attitudes are spread throughout each division and department. Under the monitoring and leadership of Water Bosses, employee benefit packages are typically substantial yet constantly reviewed for enhancements.

Interpersonal communication is one of their major strengths. Water Bosses will visit every office floor and know who sits at every desk,. They interact with staff and employees at every level. Site visits to satellite offices are the norm and feedback sessions are viewed as opportunities to listen to employee issues, concerns, and challenges. Water Bosses are great delegators. They recognize that, to be effective, they must be able to trust employees to do the job. Water Bosses are rescuers. They will do whatever they can to save company officials and employees from any and all hardships. Whether it is accepting additional duties, organizing a proposal team over the weekend, or counseling an employee with a family-related problem, Water Bosses will make personal sacrifices to achieve success.

In this series of articles we will examine the behaviors that are typically associated with bosses (i.e., department heads, directors, managers, supervisors, and team leaders) holding each Dominant temperament and strategize how we can work with them more effectively. I’ve written a number of books on the subject of temperament.