{"id":1977,"date":"2023-04-09T09:37:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T13:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-to-thrive-and-survive-when-you-work-for-a-bad-boss-2\/"},"modified":"2023-04-09T09:37:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T13:37:15","slug":"how-to-thrive-and-survive-when-you-work-for-a-bad-boss-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-to-thrive-and-survive-when-you-work-for-a-bad-boss-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Thrive and Survive When You Work for a Bad Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

Being a good leader of others matters now more than ever.\u00a0 Great leaders have regular one-on-ones with their staff, they give and seek feedback, they set goals, and communicate progress regularly.\u00a0 Yet, nearly all of us have worked for a bad leader<\/a>: someone who doesn\u2019t have time for us, always has a \u201cbetter\u201d way of doing an assigned task, creates last minute emergency work for the team, and have limited availability to speak with us about project work, or more importantly our career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam Grant, a renown organizational psychologist at Wharton Business school reminds us, \u201cbad bosses keep people stuck in the same job; good bosses create opportunities to grow and advance.\u201d\u00a0 Statistics from 2022 research at DDI, a leadership consulting firm, found that 57% of employees who leave their jobs, leave because they can\u2019t stand their boss.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forbes recently identified four key behaviors bad bosses demonstrate that encourage employees to leave their job:\u00a0 they diminish employees by micromanaging them, they don\u2019t solicit employee input, they encourage agreement while discouraging dissent, and they can\u2019t be bothered to remove obstacles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, HR.com reports that forty-seven percent of new supervisors receive no supervisor training before being promoted. And, according to the Corporate Executive Board, sixty percent of new managers fail within their first 24 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember one bad boss I had.\u00a0 The signs were there before I started:\u00a0 interviews kept getting rescheduled, even after I showed up! The offer was weeks in making and wrong when I received it.\u00a0 My manager loved being in charge, but he didn\u2019t want to do the work that came with it.\u00a0 He rarely spent time with any of us individually because he was too busy billing client hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou are not your resume, you are your work.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Seth Godin<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He handed off work that was uninteresting and low profile.\u00a0 One time, he wanted to represent my work at another firm as work of his own.\u00a0 Needless to say, I left after 9 months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I start my leadership programs by asking participants to think of a great leader they\u2019ve worked for.\u00a0 What did they do that was so compelling?\u00a0 Inevitably, someone says, \u201cwhat if you never worked for a good boss?\u201d\u00a0 Everyone laughs, but sadly it\u2019s true!\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Most likely it\u2019s because organizations don\u2019t take time to develop their aspiring leaders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, you feel stuck.\u00a0 You work for one of these bad managers, yet you enjoy your work and connect to the company\u2019s mission.\u00a0 Below are some tips for working with a difficult, even bad manager. These allow you to get you through the experience and continue to learn for yourself along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take the lead yourself.\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

All employees deserve regular interactions with their employees.\u00a0 These interactions can\u2019t only focus on the work and tasks at hand, they must also focus on you.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a simple framework for a 1:1 with your boss:\u00a0 Describe how you\u2019re doing and your well-being.\u00a0 If you feel constantly overworked, say so.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Share recent accomplishments.\u00a0 Discuss what you learned and what you\u2019d do differently next time.\u00a0 Discuss your challenges and describe ways you can address them, ask your manager to help.\u00a0 Agree on next steps.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If this isn\u2019t happening regularly, take the lead.\u00a0 Schedule 30 minutes with your manager every other week.\u00a0 Be prepared and send a list of topics like the ones above.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Find a stress outlet.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Work out, spend time in nature, work on a hobby, create art, journal, meditate \u2013 whatever it takes to keep yourself grounded. Self-care is essential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t go it alone.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Find a group of people you can safely talk to about the situation so you can stay sane while trying to make things work. For those who need to talk things out, having a safe place to do so is critical.\u00a0 Consider talk therapy.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s not only your manager\u2019s problem; you might be experiencing a rough patch in your life and difficult interactions with your boss make it worse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most employers have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) included in their benefits.\u00a0 The resources they recommend are usually covered by your benefit plan and your conversation with them will be completely confidential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Be clear about your goals.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

You work with someone who isn\u2019t particularly supportive and even difficult, so take a moment to describe for yourself why you like your job.\u00a0 You are a smart and capable person, but even the best of the best can be beaten down by tough situations and tough people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Avoid fighting so hard and long that you lose who you are in the process.\u00a0 What are you learning from it?\u00a0 Even if you work for a bad boss<\/a> but are learning every day and doing engaging work, the bad boss can be tolerable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Find a mentor inside your organization.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Mentors are usually more senior than you and in a different department.\u00a0 They understand the politics of the organization and \u201chow we do things here.\u201d\u00a0 Their insight may help you understand your own manager better. Avoid complaining about your manager to your mentor; it\u2019s just bad form.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, focus on your aspirations.\u00a0 Your mentor may even suggest other roles in the organization that you could pursue.\u00a0 While most senior leaders love to mentor, they won\u2019t reach out to you, so you need to reach out to them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk to HR if it gets too bad.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Foul language, sexual innuendos, or just not being available are never acceptable behaviors.\u00a0 Talk to HR about your challenges.\u00a0 If you are experiencing a bad boss, most likely others have too.\u00a0 They will keep your information confidential, but most likely not tell you what actions they might take, because these are confidential issues too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Find another role in the company.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

You love the company, but hate your boss?\u00a0 Seek out other roles inside the company.\u00a0 Some organizations require you to work in a role for a year before seeking another role so that may limit your options.\u00a0 You are far better off, however, staying at the company you know than moving to another that you don\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Know when to cut bait.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

There may come a time when you have had enough. That is OK. This does not make you a quitter; it makes you a survivor. Update your LinkedIn profile; let others find you.\u00a0 Interact on LinkedIn regularly by finding new connections in organizations you admire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember:\u00a0 you don\u2019t have to take a job just because it\u2019s offered to you!\u00a0 Getting that offer may give you peace of mind to know you have value in the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make the same mistake twice.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When we end up working for a bad boss, we can often look back and see signs of trouble even before we took the job.\u00a0 Interview your potential manager after the offer is extended:\u00a0 What are the goals for the team?\u00a0 Tell me about your 1:1s. What are your team meetings like?\u00a0 These questions will give you insights into the role you are moving into, so you avoid a bad manager again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, we all have worked for a bad boss.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t, however, need to be total misery every day.\u00a0 Get clear on your professional aspirations and assess whether they are being met, despite your bad boss.\u00a0 Initiate regular 1:1 check-ins with your boss; aim to broaden the conversation from \u201cwhat have you done for me lately,\u201d to \u201chere\u2019s a bit more about me and what I\u2019m interested in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Profit<\/a>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being a good leader of others matters now more than ever.\u00a0 Great leaders have regular one-on-ones with their staff, they give and seek feedback, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}