Rethinking Business Communications Blog

Warning: This post is controversial and might be labelled a ‘bad idea’, but desperate situations often call for drastic actions…

We have all been there.

We have all been in situations whereby we are holding on, by a fragile  thread, to the last shred of composure in our almost-depleted arsenal of survivalist measures. This usually happens when we are given yet another inane directive by our bosses/supervisors/managers which we know, for a glaring fact, is the worst possible ‘solution’ for the problem. To make matters worse, we would be made accountable for the failure.

Or maybe the overbearing attitudes and behaviours of our bosses/supervisors/managers have not only negatively impacted our performance, (costing us favourable reviews and well-deserved promotions), but have also made going to work a never-ending nightmare from which we are unable to recover.

Worse yet, we have been the butt of crude, racist, sexist, or other discriminatory ‘jokes’ or the unwilling recipients of humiliating tactics in full view of our colleagues.

The list goes on and on. The unpleasant truth is that at some point in your career, you will get a difficult boss and this is a fact that should not be taken lightly.

By all means, be bold and take a risk: Quit that company if you have other options or sufficient savings to fall back on while you search for better alternatives. Or leave if your physical health and emotional well-being are deteriorating rapidly and are leading to hypertension, chronic stress or heart problems. Life is too short to work yourself to an early grave.

Many of us however do not have the ‘exit’ option to take, despite the general view that employees tend to leave companies predominantly because of a bad boss or supervisor. Decisions for staying in the organisation, even in such a stressful environment of working with a difficult boss, are varied. However, financial pressures,  family obligations, a bad economy and a high rate of unemployment tend to trump most reasons.

Some advice for new entrants –  without the relevant experience, you might find it daunting to handle a difficult boss at your first job. Unfortunately, you might have to ‘suck it up’ and learn all you can for a year or two. Often this ‘‘baptism by fire’ is the quickest way to knowing your strengths and weaknesses – an invaluable lesson for your future career.

Now for the experienced professionals – what should you do if you can’t leave and still want to keep your sanity, your income and your self-respect?

Well, the tips below might not work for everyone but are worth a read.

1) Safeguard your efforts against failure and cross-check your performance multiple times

There is no way around this point. Know your onions. You would have to work like a horse and become super-competent in your duties. You are responsible for your professional growth.

By virtue of years of experience, you can hone this trait. Do not make it easy for your boss to discredit you or your work. Cross-check facts and figures and verify every single facet of a project or assignment or initiative for which you are responsible. Then do it again. And again. And again. Err on the side of caution. Note that in the final analysis, excellence is hard to ignore.

Have a back-up plan – this could be a list of other actions you could take in the event that your boss/supervisor/manager frustrates your efforts, or is tardy in approving budgets/drafts, or is stingy with his recommendations, or is otherwise just being mean, because, well, he can. Arm yourself with options: from the practical to the extreme. There is nothing reassuring about being helpless. Knowledge is power.

Realistically, you would make some mistakes. Be sure to keep them to the barest minimum; try to identify them quickly and make suggestions for appropriate solutions. Do not give your boss the opportunity to exaggerate your ‘failures’ or to insinuate to Management that you are incompetent or unreliable. Develop a tough skin for caustic berating when you do make mistakes and move swiftly along.

Someone, (whose name I, unfortunately, cannot recall), once quipped:

“There is nothing wrong with making mistakes;  just don’t do them again”.

The issue here of course is making the same mistakes repeatedly.

2) Relegate important information to  written communications

If your boss is truly difficult, it is useful to note that anything he says could, and would be denied if the case escalates and is referred to his superiors. He would not want to lose ‘face’ and you would be made the scapegoat.

You would thus need to protect your work, your reputation and your integrity.

Verbal communications are quicker for daily operations and for initial discussions but make it a habit to confirm key bits of information in emails. Ensure you save  these emails, along with relevant files/attachments in whatever format, in a private folder, (with encrypted passwords for truly sensitive information), on both your official and private computers. Where applicable, also  keep all paperwork, including receipts, invoices etc. in secure but accessible  folders. In other words, have records for everything.

It is infinitely better to be safe than sorry, and those actions would save you a lot of grief at a later date.

Trust me on this.

For written communications, below are tips to consider:

a) Write the emails only when you are calm so that you could think with a ‘clear head’.

b) Keep the emails respectful and very brief, clearly stating in the subject line the purpose for writing them.

For example, consider the subject line below:

“Request  for  approval  of  the  guidelines  for  Project  X”.

It is self-explanatory and is thus likely to receive prompt attention.

It is also important to ensure you receive a reply via email. For example, you may need to first verbally inform your boss to expect an email about budget approval. After you have sent it, proceed to remind him to kindly respond to your enquiry, to prevent delays in the commencement of the project. Then be patient. He may be tardy but he’s no fool: he knows that if you have covered all your bases, (which is evident from your actions), then it would make him look bad to his superiors if he has no excuses for the delay.

Be very careful with the tone in written communications – if poorly handled, it could render your message ineffective because you would not receive the results you desire. Refuse to show disruptive emotions such as annoyance, frustration or anger, no matter how provoked you might become by your boss’ response or lack thereof. Completely avoid using exclamations. This is your boss after all, and you do not want to make things worse.

3) Keep your cool

This could be an also impossible feat to master, especially in extremely stressful situations. But remember the wise saying:

“Loose lips sink ships”.

It is often advisable, when dealing with your difficult boss, to hold your tongue. What you do not say cannot be held against you.

I have my own stories as well. But what I have learnt is that keeping your cool, when your boss raves, rants and refuses to be reasonable, reveals two things: first, you are being more professional at that point, (much to his shame). And second, you would be able to see, rather clearly, what the underlying issues are and how to resolve them.

Besides, such a difficult boss would have ruffled a few feathers in the past. So don’t take it personally if you have tried everything and nothing appears to sway him. It is not your job to change him. It is however in your power to choose how to react in testing situations.

Perhaps this could be some consolation: He is a ticking time bomb and will self-destruct, sooner or later. So step aside and allow him to burn all his bridges and (hopefully) get transferred to another division or to another branch.  Better still – he could get fired.

4) Know your rights

At the workplace, ignorance is definitely NOT bliss.

Dust off that boring volume on company’s guidelines. Pop into the HR office and ask for clarifications. Know your rights and know how to defend them. Be clear about the process of lodging an official complaint.

Companies worth their salt would not tolerate discriminatory attitudes or behaviours, nor would they fail to investigate allegations of abuse, harassment, unfair treatment or other serious grievances.

Hopefully you might never need to resort to making an official complaint about your boss. Nonetheless, it is empowering to be in the know, especially if you tactfully hint knowledge of the process.

Whatever the case may be, refuse to be treated with disrespect. Voice your concerns to your boss in a mature manner if he has used, on more than one occasion, insulting, unacceptable language or slurs. You should also do this if he makes sweeping generalisations which you consider offensive. As I have stated in a previous post – we all have the right to be treated with professional courtesy at the workplace, whether we are liked is irrelevant.

5) Ensure that you get credit for your work

I concede that this point is borderline narcissism, but note that you are not dealing with someone reasonable.

The danger of being ‘modest’ and in displaying self-effacing ‘humility’ is clear: Your difficult boss, if he is truly sinister, would not hesitate to take all the credit for your hard work – even if he’s given you nothing but grief from the beginning.

But you would need to be very tactful when tooting your horn and only the really astute professionals know how to pull this off.

For the greatest impact, you would need to bide your time and mention your fantastic achievements in the presence of your boss’ superiors. This could be casually done during a networking event, official dinner or when the ‘super-boss’ makes the rare appearance at the office for a quick tour.

And what should you say?

Briefly mention how grateful you were to be a participant in the X project, how your team achieved an increase of X% in revenue or significantly boosted company’s performance, and how proud you all are of the company. You could do this while impressing this ‘super-boss’ with a visual representation, if possible, of the main results. (In this age of tablets, smartphones or other mobile devices, visuals are easily accessible). And all this should be done before your boss interrupts you. Statistics supplied by The Associated Press show that our attention spans are getting shorter. So try getting your point across in about two minutes.               

Be gracious – mention your boss’ support for your initiative, but only once. Remember it is about you or your team’s achievement. This may feel like lying through your teeth, but note that without your boss’ approval, you might not have completed the project. 

It is a good sign if the ‘super-boss’ asks questions or seeks clarification, making you above all, memorable. This would come in handy during that secret meeting whereby promotions/perks are decided or retrenchments are made.

Unfortunately, this suggestion might not work if your bad boss is the ‘super-boss’ of the company and does not appear to regularly report to a higher authority. In such a circumstance, you might need to make the painful decision to stay in the toxic environment, but only for a certain period if you have no other options. However, use that time wisely: tie up loose ends, consolidate your portfolio, network with other professionals in powerful companies, and be on the lookout for better opportunities. Ensure you collect your well-deserved entitlements and exit with your head held high.

Conclusion

It is only fair to state that no one is perfect, not even you, therefore make allowances for your boss’ shortcomings.

These tips are what you should do as pre-emptive measures when you are obligated to deal with a difficult boss. They could all be summed up in a simple piece of advice: protect yourself and your work.

Remember – you have worked very hard in your career and you shouldn’t allow a bad boss/manager/supervisor to derail you from professional advancement.

Kindly post your comments below and share this article.

So what is your story?

What actions have you taken to survive a difficult boss?

How were able to keep your job despite seemingly insurmountable odds?

Recommended Reading:

Employee Retention: 5 Reasons Why I Would Leave Your Company



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N.B-  Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net.