Don’t Let A "Misery Loves Company" Mindset Sabotage Your Career Success

A bad boss breeds low morale, poor motivation, performance and productivity that usually produces grumbling and complaining among co-workers. Don't fall into this “misery loves company” mindset or else your bad boss and your co-workers will sabotage your chances for a rewarding career.

A department afflicted with a bad boss is a sorry sight. It's dismal and depressing. It can prevent your from rising to the top of the heap, and instead, you will be buried beneath it.

Employees who find themselves trying to deal with a bad boss as well as not being caught up in the office malaise, are up against a double whammy. Not only do you have a bad boss, but everyone else in your department is suffering from the same unsupportive situation--and dragging you down with them.

Recent research by Scott E. Carrell of the University of California-Davis shows that people may adopt the diet and exercise patterns of the least fit within a peer group. They don't tend to emulate the most fit, rather they gravitate toward those who don't make the grade. This is especially true of the lesser fit individuals.

How does that apply to your bad boss situation? If you don’t exert extra effort, you’ll be influenced by your equally unhappy co-workers to be even more unmotivated and unproductive than you already are.

Don't join in the water-cooler complaining sessions. Walk away. Instead, surround yourself with friends outside of the office who are happy and successful in their work. Always look for ways to succeed, to do your work more efficiently, to advance your skill set—anything to keep yourself on an upward career track. By doing so, you can counteract the "peer group effect." You'll find, that no matter how bad work becomes or how often your bad boss throws a screaming fit, staying above the fray will help you step up the career ladder faster.

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.

Are You an Explainer or a Venter? The Difference Matters!

Is your communication style that of an explainer or a venter?

An explainer believes in the power of logic and rational (often detailed) explanations.

A venter believes in the power of emotional truth and expression (often loudly).

Both are perfectly legitimate communication styles, but often at cross-purposes.

As Mark Goulston explains:

         “Why do people who consider themselves good communicators often fail to actually hear each other? Often itʼs due to a mismatch of styles: To someone who prefers to vent, someone who prefers to explain seems patronizing; explainers experience venters as volatile.

This is why so many of us see our conversational counterparts as lecturing, belaboring, talking down to us, or even shaming us (if we are venters and they are explainers) or as invasive, out of control, and overly emotional (if weʼre an explainer and theyʼre a venter).”

What to do?

Become aware of your primary communication style, and suss out your Bad Boss’s (or co-worker’s or colleague’s) primary style.

Then--whether you are an explainer or a venter--exercise tolerance. Allow a venter to get whatever off their chest, and let it flow right off you like water off a duck’s back. Allow an explainer to go through whatever lengthy exposition they deem necessary.

In both cases, listen respectfully! Reflect back what you heard (checking in), and proceed from there.

Simply understanding each other’s communication preferences can go a long way towards making a Bad Boss situation, for example, a merely annoying Boss situation.