Free "Working Your Bad Boss" Webinar

I had the pleasure of conducting a webinar last night for Talent Marks, a company that offers career resources to students, recent graduates and alumni of some of the top universities in the country. The topic was, of course, bad bosses—and how to succeed in spite of them. To access the free, one-hour webinar, go to:

http://bit.ly/19D8hDa

I hope it’s helpful!

What You Can Learn From Your Bad Boss

No matter how much we complain about our bad boss, there is much to be learned by working for these types of bosses that will come in handy throughout your career.

Here are four common traits of a bad boss and what you can learn from them.

            Your Boss is a Finger Pointer – he is quick to blame and whine whenever something goes wrong. Lesson: Become a problem solver. You will be more valuable to your company, learn to think on your feet and upper management will quickly realize that you are the go-to person (not your boss) when there is a jam - and on the fast track to a promotion.

            Your Boss Loves to Criticize – criticizing others takes the focus off the incompetent behavior of your bad boss. Lesson: when your boss criticizes you, don't get defensive. Figure out how to do your job better. Companies value stand-up employees who don't wimp out at the least bit of disapproval and who are eager find new ways to perform with excellence.

            Your Boss Wants to Be King, Not a Team Player – insecure bosses (which are just about all bad bosses) want to grab the spotlight when it comes to company successes. Lesson: nowadays, more work is done in teams so being a good team player is essential to get the job done. A good team player, unlike a narcissistic boss, is a good listener and is flexible in considering how to get things done especially with ideas other than their own. Team players come with the attitude "how can I contribute to help make my team a success?"

            Your Boss is Lazy – lazy bosses expect their workers to keep up on the latest technology and procedures while they happily go about their business firmly stuck in the 20^th Century. Lesson: invest time and energy into improving your skill set and expanding your knowledge of your job and the company. Even if that means signing up for classes during your off hours, developing your talents will make your increasingly valuable to your company or to a future employer.

          

Focus on the Solution, Not Your Bad Boss’s Ridiculous Demand or Behavior!

It’s natural to get frustrated, depressed, or just plain angry with yet another unreasonable demand or idiotic behavior from your Bad Boss.

It’s tempting to dwell on the ridiculous demand or behavior--after all, it’s demeaning, disgusting, disrespectful--take your pick!

However, wallowing in the misery of it all prevents you moving through to the success you long for.

Kristy Smith suggests:

“The next time you find yourself fed up – it could be in your role, a responsibility you are required to carry out, with your boss, perhaps with the staff you manage, maybe it’s your peers. Whatever it may be, write it down, get it out, but keep the problem limited to a few sentences so it stays focused. Now, and maybe not like right NOW, maybe in a few hours, come back to it; what action-based solution can you implement to minimize or reduce the probability of it re-occurring? Remember, a solution doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is solved; it can be a resolution to a solution. The important thing here is that you are taking real, tangible action to eliminate whatever it is that is slowing your momentum down…

By practicing pairing solutions with problems, you are training your brain to automatically default to solution-based thinking vs. problem-based thinking. Stop wasting time assessing the problem and start identifying the solution!”

And with that--implement the solution and get back on your path to success!