Lessons from bad bosses, by Hakeem Subair

We often speak of the great mentors who shaped us – the wise, the generous, the visionaries.

But some of our greatest teachers were the villains of our story: the bad bosses.

They were the ones who stole credit for work they never lifted a finger to do, who basked in the glow of others’ brilliance while dimming it behind closed doors.
They were the ones who threw their people under the bus when storms came, then stood before the wreckage pretending to be heroes.
Selfish. Insecure. Unjust.
And yet, unforgettable.

Because through them, we learned.
Not through admiration, but through revulsion.
Not through inspiration, but through pain.

They showed us what leadership is not.
That a title can be worn without honor.
That authority without empathy is a kind of violence.

That insecurity in power breeds cruelty.
That silence in the face of injustice is complicity.

But perhaps their most enduring gift was this: they made us promise ourselves never to become them.

So when our turn to lead arrived, we carried their memory – not as a torch, but as a warning.
We learned to lift others up instead of standing on their backs.
To share credit instead of hoarding it.
To fight for our people, even when it costs us comfort.
To build spaces where voices are heard, not silenced.

And so, to the bad bosses who unknowingly taught us how to lead – thank you for showing us what never to become.