8 Types of Bosses as Harry Potter Characters

Most bosses fall into a category – some fall into several. We´ve compiled a list of the types of bosses with their matching character from the Harry Potter films. Can you recognise your boss as any of these Harry Potter characters?

The Friend (Ron)

This boss is all about maintaining a good relationship and having a laugh. They may not be the brightest of the bunch, but they know how to get things done. More importantly, they care about you, but they can also be firm and speak their mind if something is bothering them – without it being awkward of course. They also have a tendency to have a bit of a potty mouth.

The Teacher (Prof. McGonagall)

This is probably the more traditional type of boss. They are strict, hard-working and motivated. This boss does care about their employees, but also wants to maintain a professional distance in their relationship. They will never be your friend per se, but they will always keep an eye out for you. There are no opportunities for cutting corners or having fun during work time with this one. Maybe they aren’t always the most popular person in the office, but they are always respected and they get results.

The Friend/Teacher (Hagrid)

This is the boss that you have that awkward relationship with, where you have fun and bend the rules but you just can’t work out where the boundaries are. They are equally likely to tell you off, or join in, when you find yourself, er…”off task”. It can be a little hard to tell what kind of jokes they’ll join in on and where they draw the line. Sometimes it just depends on their mood. At the end of the day, you can still enjoy a beer together – just don’t tell them that it’s you that has been stealing all the toilet rolls.

The Dictator (Snape)

This is the tyrant. The power-crazed bully who dishes out extra work for no reason and needs to assert him/herself due to a personal lack of satisfaction in life. You occasionally catch a glimpse of their vulnerability and soft side behind that tough exterior, but they sure want you to think that they are cold-hearted. There is a slight chance this boss went to school with your dad and was in love with your mum, explaining the unreasonably strong hatred he has towards you.

The Joker (Fred and George)

This boss never gets any work done. In fact, you spend most of your time thinking about how they got this far without taking life seriously at all. Meetings go slowly because your hyperactive leader is just trying to give a quality performance and share hilarious stories from the weekend. They are blessed with immunity to stress and “bad days”. It can be a little frustrating when you want to focus and get work done. You quickly realised when you met him that you can’t be in a silly mood every day. However you can appreciate that this outlook, although often annoying, can pick you up on a bad day.

The Know-It-All (Hermione)

Results are what this boss cares about – but their results, not necessarily yours. They can be many of the other types of bosses as well, even ´The Friend´, but at the end of the day, they know best, so don’t forget it. They are really hard on themselves when it comes to performance, and sometimes this stress can be transferred to your team too. If you have a good idea, your boss will have a better one. Although, to be fair, they are normally right. Our advice (something this boss provides in regular doses) for this type of boss is don’t be a threat. Keep your head down, and don’t be too good at your job, and know when to accept you’re wrong.

The Invisible Boss (You Know Who…)

This boss is never around, but when s/he is you know about it and bad things start to happen. Everybody feels this boss’ presence – even muggles! They strike fear into the team and their very name is only uttered by a brave few. Normally, the only time you hear from them is through slightly (maybe that’s even an understatement) threatening and aggressive emails. You often wonder why they never bother to share their face if they are so confident in their angry emails. Just for good measure, they’ve probably got a really oddly-shaped nose too.

The Mentor (Dumbledore)

This is the boss we all want. They are wise, and have a solution for every problem, but at the same time don’t make you feel stupid for having a problem in the first place. With patience and understanding, they seem to have the solution for almost every crisis that ever happens in the office. This boss is the only one that ‘The Invisible Boss’ and ‘The Dictator’ are scared of. People respect them and they command attention without ever asking for it, all whilst being able to maintain a sense of humour about things. They use their magical managerial power for good and always have waist-length beards.

Do recognise your boss in these Harry Potter characters? Let us know which one is your boss in the comments below (we promise not to tell them!)

Fancy psycho-analysing your boss a little more? Take this quiz to find out which TV character your boss is.