Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Choosing Your Next Boss
John Sullivan is a working project manager who writes and speaks on project and career issues.
Good project managers leave little to chance. They live by the cliché mantra “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” and take every opportunity to remove uncertainty and to increase the odds for success. Yet few transfer those skills to career planning, and those that do tend to focus on position, promotion and pay, ignoring the one thing that can make or break an assignment: the boss.
In the book First, Break All the Rules, authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman cite the relationship with the immediate superior as the factor with the largest influence in job satisfaction. In today’s project-oriented workplace with teams forming and reforming, there now exists an opportunity to select your next manager as well as your next assignment.
With any career strategy, the most important thing is to know your own preferences and personality type, even if it means paying for professional guidance to obtain that knowledge. Once you know yourself, you’ll have a better idea about the type of job and kind of manager that will allow you to not just to work, but to thrive. Here are some things to look for when evaluating a prospective boss:
Personal Integrity
Whenever possible, avoid working for people who have compromised their integrity. Some folks simply cannot separate truth from fiction, and those that are known to be “…
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"There is one way to find out if a man is honest: Ask him! If he says yes, you know he's crooked." - Groucho Marx |