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.

          

What To Do When Your Boss Plays Favorites

          You work hard, play by the rules, and expect to be rewarded accordingly, but when you have a boss who plays favorites (and you are on the outside), work can be a frustrating ordeal. There are ways to get beyond the favoritism shown by your bad boss and still find career success. 

           A favoritism boss is one of the most insecure types of bosses around. Their secret fear is that they are not good enough—for their job, as a person, as a boss. That means their biggest desire is to be admired by everyone, everywhere, all of the time. Since that’s never going to happen, favoritism bosses settle for those chosen few who are willing to fawn over them.

            Employees who find themselves outside of their bosses’ inner circle can give the boss the ego strokes they desire without selling out.  Make him or her feel important. You can genuinely do this by first dropping the ‘poor me’ grumblings to other employees who are also outsiders. Instead, set up a quick meeting with your boss to ask if your work is meeting his expectations. Ask for suggestions for improvement. Write everything down. You’ll be stroking your favoritism boss’s needy ego in a non-brown-nosing way. When done, thank your boss. Showing appreciation is another way of communicating that you value his opinion—just what a favoritism boss needs.

            Check in with the boss regularly, reporting on how you took his suggestions to heart and always being grateful for input. Let your boss know he is making a difference in your work. In a sense, you’re turning your boss into a mentor. By elevating your boss to this level, you are not only making him feel good about himself, you are making yourself increasingly important in his eyes. That’s a much better road to career advancement than grousing and gossiping about him and his favorites around the water cooler.

            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.