I’ve been told that “people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses.” I am now convinced that this is true.
I complained bitterly about my job in this thread and this thread. Much to my relief, that job is over. Nothing personal - the client’s needs changed and my employer didn’t fit the new requirements. I stayed around for the transition and helped make everyone happy.
In my last post, I complained about my boss (Boss One), who was blocking my application for another job in the company. Boss One left shortly I wrote that. He was eventually replaced by another manager (Boss Two) with great management and leadership skills. He couldn’t change the facts of our contract with the client, but he did identify some shortcomings of the arrangement, kept the end-users out of my face, and generally backed me up when the client demanded things that weren’t in the contract. Basically, he did the job he’d been hired to do so that I could do the job I’d been hired to do.
I’d like to send Boss Two a note of thanks, but I need to say it without sounding like I’m just sucking up or angling for a job offer in the future (I’d love to work for Boss Two again, though). I’m trying to come up with something along the lines of, “Thanks for being a good person to work for, for reminding me that one can be an effective boss without being a jerk, and for reminding me that even a less-than-satisfactory job can be rewarding if you work with good people.”
Thanks to anyone who can help me put together something articulate and non-smarmy.