3 Ways to Prevent Boss From Hell Experiences
It’s difficult to come up with universal strategies for dealing with a boss from Hell because, well, they come in so many bizarre types. There are, however, some best practices that work as preventative measures. They’re not 100% effective, but they work often enough to make things a little more bearable if you’re burdened with a one. Here are three:
1. Make them look good
Pretty much all bosses, including Bosses from Hell, respond well when you do and say things that cast them in a good light. Let them take the credit for some of the good things you do. Even better – give them the credit. Don’t worry about people not recognizing who’s really doing the work. They know.
2. Make them feel important
Want to have some fun with difficult bosses? Praise them. Make offhand comments about how much you’ve learned from them, or how knowledgeable they are. Then sit back and watch how their attitudes toward you change.
3. Don’t talk about problems without already having a solution
Bosses these days are under a lot of stress relative to a decade ago – and every time someone comes up and says, “We have a problem,” the stress just increases. As the stress increases, of course, so does the Boss from Hell behaviour. The next time there are ‘problems,’ don’t just tell your bosses about it. Present a few a possible solutions with something like:
“Boss, we have a problem. What if we did xyz to fix it?”
Even if your ideas aren’t great, chances are your bosses will still appreciate the effort.
Are these a bit manipulative? Sort of – but not in a negative way. Deep down inside, even the worst boss from Hell is still just human, and we all behave better when we feel we’re not alone. You might be very surprised at how they respond.
One last note: You don’t have to wait for a bad boss to come around to try these techniques out. Your great bosses will appreciate them as well.
