Don’t Blame Your Incompetent Boss; Blame The Peter Principle

Workforce surveys are released each year where workers lament over incompetency of their bosses.  It is not necessarily the fault of the boss that he or she is so incompetent so that work suffers and employees grumble. Blame it on the Peter Principle.

            The Peter Principle states that "every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence." It doesn’t matter the size or the industry, it’s a problem that’s found just about everywhere. It then follows that employees who are still in the trenches are the ones most likely to want to do a great job. Hopefully, that’s you.

            Though incompetent bosses may seem out of control, they actually behave in predictable ways. An incompetent boss thinks he knows what he's doing when he doesn't. Incompetent bosses will throw more work your way until you're on overload and then yell when you can't finish assignments on time. They’ll accept a customer's completely unreasonable deadline and have no clue what it takes to meet that deadline—leaving you to save the day. These types of bosses have a fear that their secret—that they're lazy and irresponsible and they desperately need their subordinates to cover for them--will be found out.

            How can you work with an incompetent boss and keep your sanity? 

--Prioritize - When an incompetent boss dumps another emergency on your desk, say something like 'Be glad to handle this. Which of your other requests would you prefer to delegate to someone else?' Make him commit to delegate some of your work before he has a chance to breathe. Your workload will then remain more manageable.

--Clarify Expectations - As soon as the incompetent boss assigns you a piece of work, start taking notes and then go over the notes with him. Even an incompetent boss will not be blind to the fact that your notes, documenting his "here’s what I want" can all too easily be taken upstairs if there is heat later on.

--Check Your Work - Ask your incompetent boss to sign off on your work. At his "Huh?" just smile and tell him how much you appreciate his clarifying things for you. It is an ego stroke that works every time. Once he has given his okay, leave before he can change his mind. Because you have forced him to document his approval of your work, he is less likely to make further changes.

            By following the above guidelines, you’ve made your incompetent boss look competent by forcing him to become more responsible for the work he gives you. You can now do your job with less stress and minimal waste of time, energy and resources. The Peter Principle still applies, but at least your boss’ incompetence will have less of an impact on you.

            For tips on working with specific bad boss types, go to http://www.noellenelson.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GotABadBoss or at https://twitter.com/GotABadBoss.

Five Ways to Avoid Turning Into Your Bad Boss

A bad boss’ nasty habits can rub off on you. If you find yourself starting to behave like your bad boss, here are five reminders to keep yourself on track toward a more positive, productive career.

If you have a disagreement with someone, take it up in private, never in public.

A bad boss sees no problem yelling at an employee in front of everyone. He may think he’s showing off his authority but in fact he’s just showing everyone that he’s an incompetent manager. It’s inevitable that there will be conflict in the workplace. Always remember that conflict resolution isn’t a spectator sport. It’s something you make private.

Ask for help when you need it, and offer help when others need it.

A bad boss will never ask for help or help others. He’s too insecure. He doesn’t want to appear that he doesn’t have all the answers or if he helps someone to succeed, that person will get the credit not him.

Do your best on your own, but when you need help, don’t hesitate to ask—and be sure to thank the person who helps you; a little appreciation goes a long way. Be sure to help others when they ask. Help them willingly and graciously. Never make someone feel indebted to you because of your help. Help with no strings attached and you’ll earn the respect of others--something you’ll need on your way up.

Take criticism as an opportunity to learn how to do your job better.

A bad boss is an insecure boss, so imagine how he would take criticism. Not well. The best thing you can do when someone says you could do better is listen up, and glean as much useful information as you can from the criticism. There will be times, no matter how well you think you’re doing, that you’ll be told that you’re not. Ignore your hurt feelings and listen. Then put your entire focus on learning how you can do better next time.

Leave your personal problems where they belong--at home.

A bad boss will often inject his personal life into the workplace—providing way too many details and expecting all to commiserate with him if the news is bad. The workplace isn’t group therapy. We all have problems in our lives outside of work, but leave those problems at home. There’s little your coworkers can do to alleviate your problems other than sympathize, and often your problems will distract your coworkers from doing their job properly. Not to mention how much you’ll be distracted from doing your job, because your focus is not where it should be.

Don’t gossip.

A bad boss wouldn’t think twice about spreading rumors and gossip if it’s advantageous to him. That’s because he doesn’t care about his workers. How does it feel when someone gossips about you? Devastating. Gossiping is a waste of your time and energy. It certainly is a waste of company time, and it does nothing to accomplish your goals.

Gossiping also includes speaking poorly about someone electronically. Assume every email you write on your work computer, every tweet, every Facebook entry that refers to a co-worker, will be read by someone you’d rather not see it. Be as courteous in cyberspace as you are in person.

Give Yourself the Helping Hand to A Promotion that Your Bad Boss Never Will

You want a helping hand from your Bad Boss to get up the company/corporate ladder? Help you get that promotion you lust after? Good luck! Never gonna happen.

Not to worry! There are two outstanding ways for you to give yourself that helping hand, suggested by Dan Schawbel:

“Become a subject matter expert. If you want to stand out at work and gain visibility and recognition, you need to be an expert on a particular topic. If you’re well versed on a topic, and it’s important to the company, people will be knocking at your door and your value will skyrocket. You will be given opportunities to present to other teams and you will be able to demand promotions because you’ll have the leverage to do so.

Take on projects outside of your job description.

If all you do is what’s listed in your job description, you can’t get ahead at work. You must always push yourself outside of your normal job activities to take on additional responsibilities. 58% of managers are either very willing or extremely willing to support an employee who wants to capitalize on a new business opportunity at work. By taking on additional projects, you will further your next [advance], develop your skills and be better positioned for leadership opportunities.”

Excellent advice!