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View Winners → Managing a Bad Boss
Arcadia Weekly Sep 17, 2015
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If you work for a bad boss, likely you feel overwhelmed, undervalued, and stuck. It is even worse if you like your job and coworkers and leaving isn’t an option you’d like to exercise. Here are some strategies to help you navigate the hurdles of working for a bad boss.
Focus on Your Job: Regardless of your boss’s behavior and attitude, don’t let it affect the quality of your work. Be diligent about producing great work. This helps to maintain your reputation and collegial relationships. Also, try to stay one step ahead of your boss by anticipating requests ahead of time. This is particularly helpful if your boss tends to be a micromanager.
Switch Perspectives: As difficult as it may be, try tuning into your boss’s perspective. What’s important to your boss? What causes stress and anxiety? What’s your boss’s relationship like with superiors? Ascertaining what drives your boss enables you to adjust your behaviors to align with where your boss is coming from.
Steady-Eddie: Keep your cool. When your boss does or says something that is upsetting use techniques, like deep breathing, to stay calm. Or keep a glass of water on your desk so you can take a sip if your boss says or does something that’s bothersome. Maintain a professional tone with emails. In some cases wait overnight before responding to give yourself a chance to calm down and collect your thoughts.
Journal: Keep a record of difficult interactions. Be sure to focus on the objective facts. Simply writing things down can help relieve some of your own anxiety and it can be handy too if at some point you want to talk to Human Resources.
Confidante: Talking with a trusted colleague or professional is another helpful strategy. This might be a therapist, employee assistance counselor or co-worker. If you talk with someone in your company be sure it’s a trusted friend whom you can confidentially confide in.
Speak Up: The time may come to have a private talk with your boss. This takes courage and preparation. Plan in advance what you want to say and how you want to say it. Be focused on solutions rather than blame. Take a conversational rather than confrontational tone, and be ready to hear your boss’s side.
Heather Backstrom is an executive coach, leadership development consultant and speaker. She has a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. She can be reached at www.heatherbackstrom.com.
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