Taking control Tips for dealing with a bad boss
29 Mar 2022
At some point in our working lives, most of us have found ourselves working for a boss we just cannot get on with.
It may be that they are a bully who throws their weight around and rules by intimidation or fear.
They may be a micro-manager, who insists on telling us how to do everything, undermining our own sense of value and self-worth.
They could be an absent boss – only present when there is praise to be taken, but otherwise engaged in urgent meetings, out of the office or simply nowhere to be seen.
Or they might just be plain incompetent, unable to make a decision, failing to communicate and never giving any useful feedback or direction.
Whatever the type of boss, they can make our working lives a misery. We spend around a third of our lives at work so it’s simply not worth being miserable when we are there. So, how do you tackle a bad boss and try to improve things?
One obvious answer is to simply find a new job. This deals with the issue at source but can be a real gamble. What’s to say you don’t jump out of the fat and into the fire – and find yourself experiencing similar problems at your next position? Moving on is an answer, but there are things you can do before you reach this stage to try to resolve the matter.
The first – and most important – step is to retain your own professionalism. Don’t go around the office moaning to all and sundry about how rubbish your boss is or try to undermine them with colleagues. Doing so cannot help your own situation – and may in fact make it a whole lot worse.
In fact, your first step should be to open channels of communication with your boss so that you can give some feedback on how you feel and how things might be improved. If a lack of communication, over-ambitious workload or lack of clarity over priorities is one of the issues, talking things through can help provide solutions.
By talking to your boss, you can also gain an understanding of things from their side and see what their motivation and priorities are. This can only help build some common ground between you. It’s easy for us to think our boss should know everything, but that is never the case. By talking to your boss you can see how your priorities can be aligned so that differences are minimised. You’ll also gain some understanding into why they do things the way they do – helping reduce potential friction in the future.
Try to anticipate tasks in advance so you can get things done without being asked for them. However poor your manager, they are unlikely to want to lose a member of staff who consistently brings them solutions rather than problems.
In this way, you can also develop your own leadership role, which may well fil the vacuum left by an uncommunicative or incompetent boss. This can help your own personal development – and remain positive – and give you the sense of pride and purpose that the boss has been unable to offer.
It’s also worth examining your own part in the problem. Are you expecting too much from your boss, or using the situation to stop taking responsibility yourself? Ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to help improve the situation before it escalates too far.
Of course, it’s also worth talking to your own support network about how to handle a difficult boss. This might include friends and family, but also the company’s HR department or an independent expert. This way you will gain an idea about when to take further action – for example referring the issue to senior management or making a formal grievance complaint. In the case of bullying in particular, some expert advice about how to handle your situation is often essential. There is a huge amount of help available in such circumstances from experts such as ourselves, and it is vital to tap into these resources as early as possible if you feel behaviour has crossed the line of what is acceptable or not.
Remember, whatever your situation, we are here to help. Just click on the button for your free consultation and we can start the ball rolling.
