For most of my adult life, I was a professor. Most professors don’t know that they even have a boss. They do their thing, and their department chairs or deans let them be.

But a few years ago, I started a company, which was promptly acquired by a tech giant in Silicon Valley. As a result, I became a mid-level manager with four reports (my grad students), on temporary leave from my faculty position at Stanford. Never having had a manager before, I didn't quite know what was expected of me.

My first manager didn't really manage, but I was quickly transferred to a new manager. He was a former engineer, who was known for his technical expertise. What was worse, he loved getting deeply involved in micro decisions, challenging his people forcefully on any decision he felt wasn't right. He was a micromanager per excellence, the exact opposite of an academic dean.

I vividly remember my first meeting with him as my new boss. It so happened that all of my four reports had just been promoted. "Now that your people have been promoted to senior software engineers, your team is imbalanced, and you need to identify more junior level people," my new manager said. I was stunned. I wasn't even looking to take on more people, or let go of any of my trusted co-founders. And even if I was, my primary concern was to get shit done. Why would he even worry about this?

I gasped. Then I said: "Hey, I am so happy that contrary to public belief, you are not a micromanager." My heart pounded. My manager replied: "You are telling me to f... off?" With my heart pounding even more, I tried to produce the inkling of a smile. I uttered: "Umm, I would never use these words."

For a moment, there was silence. It was clear that this was my last day at the company. In my very first meeting, I had managed to insult my new manager, a senior executive who enjoyed the trust of the CEO. Before the meeting, I wasn't really planning on a quick exit. But it did cross my mind that I was lucky to have a backup tenured professorship at Stanford University.

But to my surprise, something entirely different happened. I wasn't fired. Instead, my manager smiled, and he changed topics. Little did I realize that at that very moment, I had completely redefined our roles, in ways that would majorly impact my ability to execute.

From that point on, my relationship with my manager was somewhat inverted. As far as my team was concerned, my manager gave me authority to make all the decisions. He never commented on any team-related issue again, unless I specifically asked him to do so. He never questioned my technical judgment. Instead, he became a trusted advisor when I needed high-level guidance on strategic issues. And I could turn to him when I needed help cutting some of the red tape in the company. At times, I made decisions he didn't endorse. And I made honest mistakes. But he let me do it. And I learned to consult with him to get his advice. In short, I had the perfect manager. (Coincidentally, his other direct reports never received my preferential treatment, and they continued to be micromanaged.) I am convinced the freedom to ignore my manager made me successful. My project launched on time, and it turned into a multi-billion dollar asset for our company.

Having worked all my life in academia, this was my first foray into industry. I took from this experience that making the world a better place comes first, and managers a distant second. The people in the trenches know so much more about what's going on. It can't be the manager who makes all the decisions. Instead, the manager ought to empower her people. Her job is to server her reports to become more effective.

So when a couple of years later, I became an executive myself, I took this experience to the next level. I told every new hire in their first meeting that the single most important rule for success is to ignore their bosses. This often created moments of disbelief. What did Sebastian just say? Many engineers had joined my team specifically to work with me. What exactly was I smoking

A few months ago, one of my closest friends and second-in-command in my organization reminded me of this very first conversation, and the advice to ignore his boss. He recalled how puzzled he was about all this. Today, he then said, he finally understood. And I could see from his facial expression that he completely got it.

I have learned that my number one role as a manager is to empower my people. As a team leader, I need to set the vision, and I need to rally my team to be behind the vision. But I see my role predominately as serving my people, and as empowering them to do the unthinkable. I have an amazing team, and I am in a unique position to empower them. In the end, it is my people who do all the work, not me. (As a manager, I merely take the credit….)

But as an employee, I can't express how important it is to stand up to your manager when you think you are right. You owe it to yourself, you owe it to your company. Heck, you owe it to the world!

https://www./article/20140929071022-260012998-the-importance-of-ignoring-your-boss?_mSplash=1&trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0

Copy & Paste never helps creativity. Learn to write ur own.

The only theme I learned from the write-up is ''Making the world a better place'' as a guiding principle and being a team leader/servant and team player with achievable visions while convincing your team to rallying round the vision !!

can som1 pls summarize this....