Managing Up: How to Deal with a Bad Boss
Posted: Saturday, November 14, 2009
by Andrea Davis
FoundCareer
Consider yourself extremely lucky if you've never had to bear the wrath of a difficult boss. You may still want to read this article though. I hate to break it to you, but at one point or another in our careers, unfortunately most of us will have to deal with a boss that can make our lives a living nightmare. If you've ever worked for a toxic manager, you know what I'm talking about.
Bad bosses come in all shapes and forms. Some managers yell while others steal credit. Some whine and others are just plain quirky. And then you have those who are downright incompetent, and you wonder how in the world they ever got to where they are. So how do you deal with an ineffective manager? Quitting your job is an option, but probably not a realistic option for most of us. Don't despair. There are ways to overcome the challenges presented by a lousy employer. Leadership experts call it "managing up". It's a way of getting around your manager's shortcomings so that you can excel at your job.
In their new book called Working for You Isn't Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss, authors Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster offer the following advice:
1. Detect the problems that exist in your relationship with your boss. Ask yourself, is it him or is it me? Be as objective as you can. Consider your boss' relationship with others in the workplace. Do others seem to have the same issues or do they seem to get along just fine?
2. Accept the behavior. You're not going to change your boss so you're going to have to modify your own behavior.
3. Depersonalize the experience. It's highly likely that if your boss is toxic, it has nothing to do with you. He was that way before you reported to him and he'll be that way after you leave.
4. Deal with the situation. By coming to terms with the fact that this is just the way your boss is and accepting it, you'll be able to deal with the challenges that face you and move forward.
The authors offer great advice but are realistic. They recognize that their strategies will only take you so far. If your boss is making you absolutely miserable and it's affecting your health, leaving your job may be the right option.
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)I love the phrase toxic boss Andrea. It sums up completely some of the people I have had the displeasure of calling 'Boss' in the past!Thanks for the comment Gracey. Unfortunately there's noi shortage of toxic bosses! Hopefully people don't take good bosses for granted.
Hi Andrea,Great article! A very important topic too, which many people can benefit from. Kudos to you.Welcome to SearchWarp!Best wishes,Mark ParsecThank you Mark. It is indeed an important topic. I've seen so many people suffer because of bad bosses.
This article was very helpful. I have dealt with difficult bosses in the past. It's great to get advice as to how to deal with them. Thanks!Welcome to Search Warp!Thanks Drew. I highly recommend the book Working for You Isn't Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss, by Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster.
Great and useful tips and I enjoy reading it. Thanks for sharing.You may take a look at some of my articles at my blog (liftyouup)
Thanks for your time and look froward to hearing from you,Thanks for your comment James! Glad you enjoyed and hopefully it was useful.
Hi Andrea,Welcome to SearchWarp!CheersThanks for reading my article!
welcome aboard!If I were to win the megamillions lottery I would still work many jobs but I would get fired often for saying all the things that I feared to say to bosses all of my life.A fine start to a writing decathelon! Paul SchroederI couldn't agree with you more Paul!
Hi AndreaWelcome to searchwarp
Andrea, welcome to Search Warp. I dealt with two difficult bosses. I wish I read your book back then!
Andrea, welcome on board. Your tips are sensible and useful. Thanks for sharing.
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