Chairs: Secret Insight Into Your Boss' Personality

Do you know people give away tips to their personality with the chairs they use? You can particularly figure out your new boss faster than your colleagues do by the chairs he calls for his cubicle.

Bosses who use one of those high-backed chairs where the back of the chair dwarfs even them are sure to be extremely assertive. He will insist on having the last word even if he is not too sure of the best answer. You better not try and reason out things with such a boss after a certain point of time. Such bosses want extra power that subconsciously they feel a high-backed chair adds to.

Then there are the bosses who use chairs with tiny wheels to move around the room. Be sure these are the easy-going, somewhat lazy bosses. They just don't want to get up to reach out to the bookcase. They would rather slide over to the printer. Such chairs are basically more suited for workers in a long hall like at call centers or newspaper editorials instead of for the boss. If you boss uses one, stay happy as you are likely to get away with minor trespasses for he will be too lazy to pull you up.

Does your boss use different guest chairs from the one he is sitting upon? That's an unspoken kind of 'chair discrimination' he's practicing. In fact, most bosses like to do this. There is a slightly superior kind of chair they sit upon and the chairs for visitors are usually of a grade lower. That's as simple as telling everyone: Be careful about who's the boss around here so you better respect the line.

Also, does your boss use the arm-rests on his chair a lot? That is more a sign of disciplined behavior than need to rest his arms. Such bosses are the ones who are most likely to be confined to a regular schedule of gym, meetings, lunch etc. Quite like the arm-rests confine them somewhat in the chair. Modern professionals work too much on the computer and ergonomically designed tables and keyboards leave little need for arm-rests.

Bosses who use the ultra-modern and designer chairs are the ones who want to keep up with the times and assert their individuality. They like to be praised in public for their taste and smile so a regular office chair just won't do for them. Bosses who go all out to pick ergonomically designed chairs to support the back are the ones who are health conscious and could give you a tip or two on fitness. He is the one who is often drapes a towel on the back of his chair too! Bosses preferring wooden chairs are likely to be more grounded in their behavior while those preferring swivel chairs are likely to be more adjustable in their interactions with colleagues.

Usually bosses like to change the furniture in their cubicle when they take over from a previous colleague but if your boss just moves in without much ado and slips into the chair your previous boss was using, you can be sure he has no ego hang-ups and is going to be one of the easiest bosses to get along with.

But all said and done, chairs can only a rough guide to your boss' behavior. You must pick up other clues to extract that promotion of yours.