Four Ways to Deal With a Horrible Boss
In the perfect world, we’d all have fabulous bosses ‑ those who help us succeed, grow, and are just generally great to be around. But that’s not always the case ‑ whether it’s a high‑powered career or a part‑time job, having a bad boss can make a great job, terrible.
A horrible boss can affect you in your personal life too, so it’s important to deal with the problem as soon as you notice it. Today, we speak with top life coach Carole Ann Rice who is sharing with us her 4 tips on how to deal with a horrible boss.
1. Gather evidence
Keep a note of anything they do to make you feel uncomfortable, which you can later look back on. This will allow you to re‑evaluate the situation with a clear head rather than just going with thoughts that arrive in the spur of the moment. It may be that you simply have a personality clash rather than a true negative situation.
2. Pinpoint the problem
Try to think about what they are doing that makes you feel they are a bad boss. Are they not listening to you? Do they steal you ideas? Maybe they don’t follow through on promises? When you’ve figured that out, think about how you can fix it yourself. If they are stealing your ideas for example, it might be a case of you initially sharing those ideas in public, so everyone can be clear that they came from you.
3. Gather allies and advocates
Making friends wherever you can in the office. It’s important to network with people on all levels ‑ the girls at reception or the student who helps out in the post room, but also vertically with managers who out‑rank your boss. This means that you have a good support group and advocates on your side who will champion you if you ever get into a sticky situation.
4. Have a private chat
It takes a lot of courage to do so, but if you feel brave enough a one to one chat with the person is a great way to solve the issue at last. Go over all the notes you’ve written before you go in and let them know about the times where you have felt threatened or you feel they have been a bad manager. This is a preemptive strike and will allow you to take control of the situation yourself.