Do you report to a bad boss?
Ken Pelczarski | TLT Career Coach March 2020
Strategies to understand your situation and seek a positive resolution—when possible.
Has your productivity, motivation and overall job satisfaction been affected by a bad boss? Is your boss driving you crazy virtually every day on the job? How do you deal with the situation? Should you leave the company and how soon?
The answers to these questions are a matter of personal judgement. I will try to provide answers in this article that will increase your chances of making the best career decision for yourself when you have a bad boss. For convenience, I will refer to the boss as a male even though bad bosses come in all shapes, sizes and genders.
Your boss can turn a great job at a top employer into a truly miserable experience. That is why many industry surveys indicate that having a bad boss is the top reason for
leaving a company.
Unfortunately, finding a great boss can be extremely difficult. One big reason is that employees are frequently promoted simply because they have done a great job. Employers often do not consider the fact that different skills are required to be a leader vs. an individual contributor. In these cases, individuals have risen to their level of incompetence, the so-called Peter Principle.
What actions can you take when you have a boss you cannot tolerate much longer?
• Begin to document incidents regarding issues with your boss.
• Gather support from other subordinates with the same issues.
• Attempt to work things out directly with your boss.
• Go above your boss to resolve issues through higher level management.
• Request a transfer to a different department or location.
• Stay with the company and adapt to your boss’ management style (if issues are not
too serious).
• Leave the company. If your career growth is being affected, issues with your boss
are not short term and positive internal changes are not likely.
Factors that influence the actions you take:
• Does your boss report to a higher-level manager? You might be reporting to the top person in the company and need to work things out directly with him.
• How much clout do you have with top management? You may be able to go above your boss easily without negative ramifications.
• Does top management have a high opinion of your boss? If they do, you may be hurting yourself by complaining about your boss.
• How passionate are you about your employer and current role? It may not be worth the effort to affect internal changes if you can attain better career growth by switching jobs.
• Do other subordinates of your boss have the same opinion of him? If so, you may rally a small group of co-workers to join you in confronting your boss or higher-level management.
• How much does your boss care about his job and the company? If your boss values his job, he may have incentive to work things out with you.
• Is your boss likely to stay with the company long-term? Perhaps you should stick around if you have insight that your boss is about to leave or be dismissed.
Bad bosses
Below are some of the most common types of bad bosses and how you can deal with them:
1. The Micro-Manager
This is probably the most common and well-recognized type of bad boss. A micro-manager imposes unnecessary oversight on his subordinates. This management style may impact your productivity through involvement with excessive paperwork and other reporting measures. If micro-management is pervasive throughout upper management, you will be challenged with trying to change the culture of the organization. If your boss is the sole micro-manager, you need to stress to him that you thrive with lesser rules and more freedom. Ask him to give you a chance to demonstrate how much you can accomplish in this kind of work environment. Express that this approach will free him up to spend time on other tasks.
2. The Yes Man
Does your boss always side with upper management? Does he fail to back you when his superiors question your efforts or performance even when he knows you are a strong performer? This will inevitably make you look like (a.) a less desirable employee, (b.) you are unsuitable for a promotion, and/or (c.) a candidate to be let go from the company. You need to have candid conversations with your boss to convince him that he will look better in the eyes of upper management if he backs you when you are doing a great job.
3. The Deserter
Does your boss fail to support you and his entire team by not offering encouragement and a positive attitude? Does he fail to promote your best ideas to his superiors? Your motivation, productivity, and overall job satisfaction could suffer as a result of his lack of support. Emphasize that your performance will be even better with his increased support and that you will equally support his efforts.
4. The Hermit
Does your boss seem to be hiding when communication with his subordinates is critical? Projects may not stay on track and time may be wasted without consistent communication between the boss and his team. Emphasize to your boss that mutual feedback is important for maximum work efficiency by his team and that these communications will enable him to do his job more effectively.
5. The Unclear Communicator
Does your boss attempt to communicate with you but the intended message is often not received? Without clear communications, tasks are misunderstood, time is wasted and less is accomplished. Work out a system of communication directly with your boss. Repeat messages back to him to ensure everything was heard correctly. Also, have these messages put clearly in writing to the satisfaction of both parties.
6. The Non-Visionary
Does your boss fail to rally his team around a mission and/or high-end goal? This may cause team members to be less motivated and go through the motions instead of working hard collectively toward an exciting end goal. Talk to your boss about how much it means to you to be excited about a project and to understand the purpose behind your efforts.
7. The Small Picture Viewer
Does your boss tend to nitpick and be focused on details all the time? He could be a perfectionist and be losing sight of the forest for the trees. Stress to your boss that what you especially need from him is consistent project status updates. Tell him that you will be able to manage your time and be more successful on projects with this information, and that too much focus on details can get in the way of the bigger picture.
8. The Praise Withholder
A basic intrinsic need of most people is recognition. When receiving regular appreciation, most employees will work harder as a result. Your boss may not even be aware that he is withholding his appreciation. Encourage your boss to recognize above average effort and performance. Tell him that you will also accept suggestions for improvement.
9. The Daily Critic
Does your boss focus on the negative and constantly criticize you? Too much criticism can decrease the level of team performance. On the other hand, small doses of constructive criticism can improve team performance. Have an open conversation with your boss about the right mix of praise and criticism that you believe will optimize your level of performance.
10. The Time Bomb
Do you have a boss who is always ready to explode at any time? Does he exhibit volatile and unpredictable behavior? This management style will cause team members to be constantly on edge and overly careful of making mistakes instead of potentially achieving success through trial and error. Come to an agreement directly with your boss that will result in him responding in a calm manner when he is upset. If he cannot
learn to control his own behavior, talk to upper management about options including anger management classes for your boss.
11. The Credit Thief
Is your boss always taking credit for your ideas and successes? This could easily cause your performance to be undervalued by upper management. Document your accomplishments for discussion with your boss and perhaps with his superiors if he does not agree to give you written credit. Encourage a collaborative effort in which you and your boss get shared credit when appropriate. Pick your battles carefully by confronting situations promptly that only involve significant achievements.
12. The Slave Driver
Does your boss overwhelm with you tasks that you cannot possibly finish on time? This will likely decrease morale and may trigger you to rush through tasks and make critical mistakes. Arrange a meeting with your boss to explain that you are behind on projects. Document how your time is being spent so you are not viewed as a slow worker.
13. The Do-It-Yourselfer
Does your boss have a problem with delegating tasks? He likely believes that he can do things better himself. As a result, he is not trusting or empowering his subordinates. Talk to your boss about delegating a select project to you that he would normally not delegate. Work hard to show him how successful you can be with such a challenging project. Stress to him that he will have more time to focus on other things if he delegates more projects.
14. The Maverick
Does your boss appear to be out for himself without caring for others or properly following company rules and guidelines? It is a large problem when a manager is not aiming for team accomplishments. You and other team members need to build a closer relationship with your boss in order to facilitate mutual caring and trust. Arrange to spend time outside the office with the boss, perhaps doing one of his favorite activities.
15. The Know-It-All
Does your boss like to show off his knowledge? Does he rarely ask for your input and have a my way or the highway attitude? By doing this, he is depriving himself of valuable input and ideas from his team. Meet with him and start by complimenting him on his tremendous knowledge. Tell your boss how much you have learned from him. At the same time, express your belief that you have a lot to offer and encourage him to give your best ideas a try.
16. The Slacker
Is your boss a low bar setter who does not expect much from his team? Low expectations will certainly lead to low levels of performance. Team members will have little pride in their work. Their jobs may even be in jeopardy due to sub-par performance. Talk to the boss about your desire to work hard towards bigger goals. Offer to take charge of projects. Perhaps he is coasting to retirement and will welcome your offer.
17. The Status Quo Maintainer
Does your boss seem to be afraid of change? Does he frequently resist new ideas? This approach may seriously stifle a team’s innovation and overall success as well as cause the company to fall behind its competition. Talk to your boss about experimenting with new ideas, perhaps one new idea at a time, that will likely result in new successes and high recognition from his superiors.
18. The Bean Counter
Do you find that your boss is evaluating you strictly by numbers? There is nothing wrong with quantification as a performance measure to determine level of success. However, your boss will often miss on recognizing superior performance if he focuses only on numbers. Have a discussion with your boss about implementing other qualitative measures of performance such as (a.) project progress, (b.) research discoveries, (c.) new customer leads and (d.) relationship building with prospective customers.
19. The Paranoid Threat Monitor
Does your boss constantly look over his shoulder? Does he seem insecure and threatened that somebody will make him look bad or even steal his job? Assure him regularly that one of your main goals is to have him and the team both do well. If your boss is doing a good job, enhance your relationship with him by giving him favorable reviews to his superiors.
20. The Shady Operator
Have you discovered that your boss is conducting unethical business practices? This will ultimately affect your employer’s reputation and perhaps yours as well. Meet with your boss to discuss the origin of these shady dealings. If he tells you that upper management condones these practices, confirm this directly at these higher levels and proceed to leave the company to protect your reputation. If he tells you that he is doing this alone, arrange a meeting with upper management and aim for an immediate end to these practices.
21. The Saboteur
It is a highly concerning situation when your boss sabotages your good work. Your job could easily be in jeopardy in the short term. Meet with your boss to make sure there is not a good reason for what is happening. If there is no immediate resolution, bring documentation of sabotage to a meeting with upper management. Encourage the corrective action of dismissal of your boss. It is recommended that you leave the company if there is no action taken (ideally the firing of your boss) that would guarantee against further sabotage.
There are different degrees of boss toxicity and many lethal combinations of bad boss traits. Some issues are deeply rooted while others can be attributed to a new boss who is simply misguided in the best way to manage his team.
Many good bosses have mild tendencies toward managing in manners described above. These tendencies are normally easy to deal with in the course of the boss-subordinate relationship. Bad bosses, however, employ more extreme leadership methods in one or more of the above categories of management styles. Issues with bad bosses need to be addressed promptly and could lead to you leaving the company if corrective action is not taken.
You will likely have little or no influence when a new boss is selected to work above you at your current employer. When you are interviewing with a prospective new employer, however, you will be able to choose whether you want to work for the boss at that company. Be sure to learn as much as possible in the interview process about the management style of your potential boss and the entire management team.
I have been my own boss for 35 years and feel fortunate not to have any headaches about bosses. On the flip side, it can be difficult to maintain self-discipline and be tough on yourself when necessary. A great boss helps with these issues and has a positive effect on your morale and motivation. Strive to work for a boss that will facilitate your career growth and bring out the best in you for maximum productivity and success.
Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-area search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at 630-960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.