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Truth 10. You Can Learn a Lot from Dealing with a Bad Boss
Ever had a bad boss? If the answer is yes, consider yourself
lucky. Believe it or not, you learn a great deal from having
to deal with a bad boss for a short period of time. However,
that’s the key: short periods. While long stretches will
grind you down, a stint of a year or less can function like
a corporate boot camp, equipping you with an arsenal of
tools for dealing with future bad behavior, from bosses,
colleagues and others. It can even help you become a better
boss yourself.
Bad bosses come in all shapes and sizes. While the very
worst have nasty temper tantrums, change their minds at the
drop of a hat, or stonewall your every effort, there are
plenty of others who are just a bit irritating,
non-supportive or manipulative. Rather than let them waste
your time and sap your energy, use their bad habits as
training exercises to hone your people management skills.
Here are three of the most common boss faults, and ways in
which to put them to work for you:
Delegating at the last minute: When you are well-organized,
nothing is more annoying than your boss suddenly dumping a
whole load of stuff on your desk that needs to be done by
tomorrow! Especially if you had plans for the evening.
Action: Rather than complaining or muttering under your
breath, start to proactively manage your boss’ delegation by
showing a regular interest in what priority projects he or
she has coming up. You can then volunteer to get onto some
of that stuff right away. Not only does this reduce nasty
surprises by keeping you ahead of the game, it makes your
boss see you as someone who is looking out for his or her
interests.
Micro-managing: Some bosses seem to be constantly on your
back, incapable of letting you get on with your own work.
This can irritate you by coming across as a lack of trust.
Action: Don’t take this behavior to heart, but understand a
control-freak boss as someone who just needs to see the
detail to feel secure. You can play to this need in ways
that put you in control instead. Start keeping a checklist
of all current tasks to address, check off and add to every
time you talk together. You might also ask for a measure of
high, medium and low priorities, directing your energies to
the high ones first. Your boss will bother you less once you
articulate this detail in advance together, confident that
he or she knows what you are busy doing, freeing you up to
do things your way some of the time.
Wanting everything done his or her way: Sometimes a boss
insists on a very different approach to work from the one
that suits you. The differences in preferred style can cause
tensions, confusion, and long-term relationship problems.
Action: The challenge here is to grin and bear it and adapt
to circumstances, however irritating those are. As the
subordinate, it’s your responsibility to adjust to the way
your boss likes to do things, shortcomings and all, and not
the other way around. So, for example, if your boss likes to
see issues in writing, take the time to write them down for
him or her, even if it’s your own preference to talk things
over. In doing so, you can take pleasure and pride in
developing and honing valuable skills of flexing and
adapting. These will serve you well in other situations,
helping you to work and communicate well with people of many
different styles and habits. While in the short term your
boss will see you as smarter and more efficient. |
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