I've never liked being tied down or managed. I'm like a wild horse—I want to do what I want, whenever I want.
So when I entered the workforce, I found it very uncomfortable. Work isn't like school, where creativity alone is enough. You have to cater to others' tastes, with your boss constantly guiding and reminding you. It all felt incredibly stressful, and the inability to do things my way was genuinely painful. Adding to that, since my work involves writing and publishing, I had to restrict myself from fully expressing my ideas—I had to refine them, adjust angles, and sometimes accommodate advertisers. All these "accommodations" made me watch senior colleagues who didn't need to be managed and wonder, "Maybe I'm just not good enough yet!"
Obsessed with this thought, I desperately pursued my boss's approval, but the harder I tried, the more it backfired. Of course, this doesn't mean we don't need to improve—pursuing progress is worthwhile. But how do we "break free from the boss's chain" and properly leverage our strengths in a place of freedom? The key actually lies in this: "Only people who need management actually need to be managed." What does this tongue-twister really mean?
Simply put: when your abilities and ideas don't yet align with what the organization requires, your boss "needs to manage" you because you "need management."
Do you understand this concept?
Really, this relates heavily to your manager's "trust" in you.
(Related reading: How the Korean Drama "Misaeng" Realistically Shows That Work Is a Process of Building "Trust")
Regardless of your individual abilities—whether strong or weak—when you join a company or transfer departments, your boss won't yet have enough understanding of you to feel comfortable assigning important tasks. Without a benchmark for judgment, they'll gradually hand things over while adjusting your work attitude, methods, and sequence to build proper efficiency and systems. This period might last months, not days.
So for a while, you might feel like you're doing "repetitive work" with no real chance to shine. You might even wonder if your boss even sees you. But in many things—both work and life—"doing simple things repeatedly makes you an expert; doing repetitive things with care makes you a winner." Do you grasp this distinction?
From your manager's perspective, having you repeatedly train on simple tasks helps you internalize them unconsciously. You develop judgment, learn how to face crises, and your error rate drops dramatically. That's when they recognize you as trustworthy and gradually add more complex tasks, allowing you to improve subtly.
If you're even more intentional, making small improvements in these "things you consider trivial" every day:
For example: Reduced completion time → Improved efficiency
Lower error rate → Enhanced stability and quality maintenance
Incorporating your own ideas → Creating uniqueness
Through these small changes, you quietly build your own work style and communication methods. Once your boss and colleagues understand your personality and recognize that you listen to feedback and are willing to learn, trust naturally develops over time. They'll then entrust you with more important work and let you make your own decisions.
Your novice period is a process, not an end point. Without going through trials, how do you refine yourself?
As you grow stronger and become capable of flying solo, your boss will let go. By then, you've already "broken the chain" and can fly free.
