How to Handle a Difficult Boss
January 29, 2011 by admin
Filed under Business, Careers & Employment
Satisfying a difficult boss is always a challenge, but doing so becomes critically important in a weak economy with a nearly 10% unemployment rate. The last thing you want to do is give your hard-to-please manager an excuse to replace you.
“Control freaks” worry that if they don’t supervise every last detail of a project, chaos will ensue. Since their perfectionism results from insecurity, you need to reassure them.
Frequent progress reports go a long way toward calming down an intrusive perfectionist. You also might tell the boss that you are driven to do even better work when given some autonomy because you are a self-starter — but always explain how you plan to deliver the expected results. Finally, if you have made mistakes or missed deadlines in the past, tell the boss what you’re doing to ensure that it won’t happen again.
The Undecider.
Some managers give little in the way of direction and can’t seem to decide what they want — until something goes wrong. The trick here is figuring out why you’re not getting enough guidance.
One possibility is that the boss is busy. If that’s the case, ask for input only when you need it. Get straight to the point, and present the issue simply — too many details make choosing a course of action more difficult.
Another explanation for chronic indecisiveness is, again, insecurity. Afraid of making the wrong decision, the boss won’t make any decision. In this case, make a recommendation and explain why it’s the best choice.
The Machiavelli.
The relentless career builder wants only to impress superiors and get ahead. Such managers take credit for everything their subordinates accomplish. They don’t spend energy developing staff, but they frequently have “pets” — the people who make them look good.
This kind of boss has a fragile ego and needs a lot of attention. Preface your sentences with compliments, and be careful not to say anything that may be taken as a challenge. If the boss claims credit publicly for your work, speak up — but share the limelight by using “we” and “our,” rather than “I” and “my.”
The Compulsive Critic.
Managers who never seem satisfied with their employees’ performance (even though the employees are doing good work) often are deeply angry. Sometimes they believe that recognizing good work in others would diminish their own accomplishments.
For that reason, you shouldn’t try to defend yourself if your boss disparages what you know is fine work. Develop a thick skin. Often, you won’t have to redo or change anything.
The Moody Personality.
Extreme mood swings, unpredictable reactions and irrational rages characterize borderline personality disorder, a condition that’s hard to diagnose and treat.
Borderlines don’t respond to reason because they have no insight into their behavior. And they don’t respond to emotional appeals because they’re too absorbed in their own feelings to care about others.
The only way to cope with a borderline boss is to keep a low profile. Avoid getting dragged into dramas or confrontations. Do the best work you can, and rely on your colleagues for inspiration.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Barbara Moses, PhD, president of BBM Human Resource Consultants Inc., in Toronto. Her books include What Next? The Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life (Dorling Kindersley). She writes a column for Canada’s The Globe and Mail. www.BBMCareerDev.com
Successful Companies in the United States
February 25, 2009 by admin
Filed under Business, Careers & Employment
When studying business and trying to get one of your own off the ground, one of the most important lessons you can learn comes not from a textbook but from observation. Nothing shows the young entrepreneur what works and what doesn’t by studying the most successful businesses and what they have done to reach their lofty heights. That doesn’t mean you should copy their business model from stem to stern, but the examination of their practices may give you some good ideas about how to launch, maintain, and progress with your company through the life of your career.
The first company the wise entrepreneur should look at is Nike. The company is the largest sportswear provider in the world. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to sell, though, be it sneakers or computers, there are lessons to be learned from Nike’s history and their continued success in the American marketplace. These lessons range from successful logo and motto (there are few among us who cannot identify the Nike swoosh or the motto “Just Do It”), to the determined drive that the company put forth in making sure they permeated the entire sports and fashion world. While Nike may be best known for sneakers, an enormous part of their profits and business model comes from sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, pants, hats, and jackets. Anything you can feasibly put the swoosh on, they’ve tried it. And through doing this, they’ve established themselves as the dominant force in the sportswear marketplace.
Apple, Inc, is not only a wonderful company to look at when one considers those companies that are successful and have made a strong name for themselves in the marketplace, but they are a great example of a company that mastered the art of the comeback. At the start of the eighties, it was basically Apple and IBM in a race for first place. Thousands of homes all over America had Apple personal computers on their desks. But just a few scant years later, the PC was king, Microsoft was everything, and Apple was forgotten. Though they maintained a place in the marketplace with mildly successful software applications, they didn’t break through again until the late nineties with a product called the iMac. This computer was revolutionary in virtually no way, other than its marketing campaign and its exterior design. With its translucent, colorful shell, the iMac went on to become a major success, and give Apple its first profitable days in five years. This was of course followed by the enormously successful iPod and iPhone, and today Apple is in a better market position than ever before.
Studying companies such as Apple and Nike (and thousands of others) is important for a variety of reasons. Not only can these companies relate terrific stories of how to succeed in today’s world, but they can be mightily inspirational for the up and coming entrepreneur. Books are plentifully available, and recommended for anyone wanting to compete in today’s America.
For more Career and Employment tips and advice visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/careers%20employment/
