How many times have you heard someone give that (or something unprintable) as their reason for leaving a job? I know that I, in my capacity as a career consultant, have heard it hundreds of times.
Dealing with a problem boss can be as gut-wrenching as trying to patch up a shaky marriage, maybe tougher. There are, after all, powerful emotions involved in the boss/employee relationship that can create overwhelming barriers to communication. I find, however, that those who can rise above it are those with the most successful careers.
Now, let me say up front that it's easy to be a bad boss and most bosses who become problems for their employees don't do so intentionally. It's important to keep this in mind when dealing with a problem boss. Still, these things must be dealt with.
The things that make a boss problematic run the gamut of possibilities. Let's look at a few of them, along with some suggestions for how you might deal with them:
1. The failure to acknowledge talent, ability or successes, and the tendency to horde all the credit. This is without a doubt the most common problem and the easiest one to correct. A boss who fails to give you your due is probably suffering from a lack of confidence or some kind of anxiety over his or her own position.
As a subordinate you can ease those anxieties by offering your boss praise for a job well done. Remember, a boss hears every problem and complaint, but rarely hears any praise. And I think it's a universal truism that if you give praise you get praise. When a boss hears from subordinates that they think he or she is doing a good job, he's likely to say the same of them.
2. The failure to give guidance. This also commonly results from a lack of confidence, but it could also be laziness, ineptitude or a desire to be perceived as a nice guy. Of course, many people prefer to work in an atmosphere in which they have broad latitude. More often, however, people begin stepping on each other's toes and become unproductive. Direct communication with your boss is the only answer. He or she needs to know how you feel. If the problem is that your boss has been given accountability and responsibility but no authority by his higher-ups, perhaps it's up to the employees to take their case directly to those higher-ups.
3. The over-application of authority. You know, the dictator syndrome. There are a number of very successful companies in which the CEO wields absolute authority, and I guess you can't knock this approach if it works. In the case where the owner of the company rules with an iron fist, you simply need to decide whether you want to stay and live with it or move on to something else. I don't think there's much you can do about it. At the department-head level, though, you need to make a decision as to whether such dictatorial behavior is changeable If it is, direct communication is the answer. You need to tactfully explain to your boss that you could be more productive if you had more leeway.
The key is to clearly show your boss how he or she, or the company, would benefit by a change in behavior.
4. The failure to make good or timely decisions. Again, there's not much you can do about this, and again, you have to make a decision as to whether or not you're willing to live with it. In some cases, it might be possible to tactfully question the rationale behind some decisions and in this way help your boss see "the error of his ways."
5. The failure to listen or give subordinates any plat form for providing input. This is the most difficult problem to deal with, but also the one that is most immediately solvable. You simply need to steel yourself and ask that your boss start listening to his or her subordinates. If you get a negative response, I recommend that you get yourself out of that situation as soon as possible. Listening is the key and most basic activity in all human relationships. A boss who does not, or will not, listen will rob you of your self-respect
Some people go along for years with the knowledge that they are never going to get along with their boss. But they ignore it so they can hang on to the facade of security that comes with a paycheck. These people are hardly what I would call successful. Successful people take matters in hand and endeavor to change them.
