Is Your Boss Superhuman?

''Working Girl'' aka Karen Burns

Maybe you've had one. A boss who's a likable, funny, generous, and all-around lovely human, but who is...a terrible boss. Unreliable. Inconsistent. Disorganized. In short, a nightmare.

The qualities that make people charming and fun are not the same qualities that make them good bosses. In fact, it's a lot harder to be a good boss than to be a nice person. Why? Because a good boss is a predictable, sane, and organized human being who can handle power with grace and humility.

That ain't just human. That's superhuman.

More ways that good bosses are superhuman:

• Good bosses make their expectations clear.

• Good bosses distribute the workload fairly.

• Good bosses schedule the workload sanely.

• Good bosses give you the tools you need to do your job and then let you do it.

• Good bosses keep their promises.

• Good bosses back you up, protecting you from those who want to harm your interests.

• Good bosses give you credit for your successes, and tell others about them, too.

• Good bosses take the blame for your mistakes, and help you avoid mistakes in the future.

• Good bosses let you know how you're doing.

• Good bosses help you achieve your career (and maybe even life) goals.

That's a lot to ask of a human. But we ask it of a boss. So if you have one who does most of these things, most of the time, count yourself lucky.

Karen Burns, Working Girl, is the author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use, to be released by Running Press in April 2009. She blogs at karenburnsworkinggirl.com.