Ultimately, it was my existing good relationship with my colleague that led me to accept her as my new boss.

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Many responses were similar to this from an employee in an insurance company: My boss drives us crazy with her mixed messages.

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"Just sit at her computer and type for her, " my boss advised me with my first client, a private-high-school student.

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But unlike the intern in Singapore, who was contemplating taking her expensive bag to work, my boss was referring to my good grooming.

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My instructor (now boss) was still grooming me to take her position.

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Even more surprising, when I became acquainted with her boss, the relationship proved an unbelievable asset to my career.

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