2014 Workplace New Year’s Resolution–Tap Into Your Career Courage

The New Year is always a time of new beginnings—even at work. For those suffering from a bad boss, January is the perfect time to take action that will get you out from under the thumb of a bad boss and on to a rewarding career, says Dr. Noelle Nelson, author of
Got a Bad Boss? Work that Boss to Get What You Want at Work (Amazon eBook, $7.99).

“Every day, bad bosses wreak havoc,” says Nelson. “And every day, employees beat their heads against the wall and whine at the water cooler, but nothing changes. Employees need to quit complaining about their bad bosses, stop getting angry and have the courage to take back control of their careers.”

Nelson, a psychologist and trial consultant, has seen first-hand the nasty emotional and collateral damage of lawsuits involving bad bosses. “Only a tiny fraction of bad boss behavior ever sees the inside of a courtroom. The majority of workers continue to suffer from a bad boss while venting their frustration to co-workers, friends and relatives. This behavior usually won’t get you very far.” Instead,

Nelson offers these suggestions to make the New Year at work more productive and rewarding. --Look beyond the puffed up ego mask your bad boss hides behind and you will find someone who is scared to death they are not good enough, loved enough, powerful enough. “Now there’s something you can work with,” says Nelson. “Knowing what drives your boss gives you a tremendous amount of leverage in your interactions.”

--If your boss is pitching a fit--screaming, blaming, angry--be the calm in the eye of the storm. “Don’t react, don’t blink, don’t defend. Wait for it to pass,” explains Nelson, “and then calmly say something like ‘I’ll see what I can do about that’ and leave. Then do something about it. Your response and subsequent actions give you control.”

--Quit seeing your boss as your enemy. Become your boss’s ally; engage in his or her success--which will become your success. “When your boss looks good, you look good—especially in the eyes of the higher ups,” says Nelson.

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

Yes, There Are Career Gems in Your Bad Boss's Bla-bla-bla When You Listen Up!

It’s very tempting, when your Bad Boss is spouting yet another load of blabla to tune out--been there, heard that, do you really need to listen?

Yes! You do. Because somewhere in your boss’s seemingly worthless yamma-yamma, there is probably something you can use to your advantage. Some nugget of how he or she really wants things done, or some clue as to how you could help resolve a problem in a way that brings you some advantage. Sure, you may have to sift through a fair amount of nonsense to get to the good stuff, but genuine listening always has a payoff in the long run.

Margaret Heffernan reported for CBS MoneyWatch on what Sheryl Connelly,

a futurist who works for Ford Motor Co., had to say about listening during a recent TEDGlobal talk in Edinburgh:

“Focus closely on the person speaking. Don't half-listen while you check your messages… be there in full. Otherwise, you are likely to miss something.

“Listen carefully for things you don't know. Our brains home in on what's familiar because it's easy and comfortable, and it reassures us of our intelligence. But that's no way to learn anything. Listen for new information, discontinuities, things you didn't know but could learn from.”

Wise words. Listen for what you don’t know. You’d be surprised how much you can learn about your Bad Boss and how to make yourself valuable to him or her, just by training yourself to be--a better listener.

Wanna Succeed Despite Your Bad Boss? Have a Plan!

It doesn’t matter whether your Bad Boss is an Ego on steroids, beyond incompetent, or a practically invisible nebbish, one thing is guaranteed: your Bad Boss isn’t doing squat to help you accomplish success on the job, much less advance your career.

Your career is entirely up to you. Period.

No worries--as long as you have a plan.

A plan is a big deal, whether it’s a plan to get more accounts, more sales, better resources, more training. You need a plan.

"There aren't a whole lot of stories of success from people who didn't have a plan," says Chris Ohlendorf, chief talent officer of Versique Search and Consulting in Minneapolis.

And while he acknowledged, in speaking with Catherine Conlon of Monster.com, that “there is always a little bit of luck involved when someone reaches the corner office… a plan for your career will be a big part of any success you achieve.”

A plan is easy to put in place: you start with “What do I want?” Duh. But you still have to write it down. Then you work out the steps to getting there, assign target dates to each step, figure out the resources you’ll need along the way. Voila! You have a plan.

Now all you have to do is work your steps. Because what Mr. Ohlendorf didn’t say in this interview, but no doubt would, is that a plan is only so much hot air unless you follow it through with action.