A good boss provides encouragement, development, mentoring, and support, while also being fair, constructively critical, and helpful in integrating employees into high-performing teams. This is a boss you remember for years, one who has a lasting impact on your career.
But what happens when you end up with a really bad boss – someone who not only lacks these positive characteristics, but is also a negative force? Do you just grin and bear it, complain to higher authorities, look for an escape route, or do something else? Here are two quick (disguised) examples:
- Sheila was an up-and-coming manager at a well-known
manufacturing company. Several years ago, she was asked to build and run
a small team that would invest in start-ups aimed at bringing new
technology into the company’s supply chain. Since this was a minor
operation, Sheila’s supervisor, the head of Supply Chain, paid her very
little attention. Eventually, her team built a portfolio that caught the
interest of the CFO and the CEO, and soon she was meeting regularly
with them. Unfortunately, Sheila’s success with the C-suite was met with
jealousy and anxiety from her boss. For the next year, the boss turned
down requests for more resources, gave her poor performance reviews, and
spread the word that Sheila was “difficult to manage.” Eventually he
moved the team away from Sheila and left her as an individual
contributor.
- Howard was a high-potential manager at a large life
sciences firm. For the past two years he had led a well-regarded team
of analysts who provided performance reports to business units. When a
new head of Financial Planning and Analysis was brought in from the
outside, however, Howard suddenly couldn’t do anything right. His new
boss criticized the way things were done, belittled members of Howard’s
team, created discord with the business unit heads (their clients), and
refused to listen to anyone’s input. And when Howard tried to spend time
with this boss and develop a more personal relationship, he was
castigated for being “high maintenance” and someone who “needs
reassurance” to do his job.
Obviously both of these cases
are somewhat extreme (although I have many similar ones to draw upon).
But they do illustrate how a bad boss syndrome leaves subordinates
feeling trapped and intimidated, with nowhere to go. If Sheila or Howard
complain to the next highest level, it could make things worse and
reinforce the claim that she or he is “difficult to manage” or “high
maintenance.” If they go to HR or an executive with their concerns, they
could be branded as troublemakers or difficult subordinates. But if
they do nothing, they will be miserable and lose the respect of their
direct reports. It’s a tough dilemma.
Luckily, there are a couple of alternatives. They come with no guarantees, but they may be worth considering.
The
first is to wait it out. Bad bosses can be like bullies who eventually
get tired of harassing people, particularly once they realize that it
won’t get them anywhere. The key is to keep doing a good job, while
making sure that people above and beyond your level know that you are
still performing. Most of the time, a boss’s bad behavior is visible to
others, so hanging in there, without complaining, will be viewed
positively. And over time, a bad boss may even self-destruct and lose
credibility. In fact, that’s what happened to Howard’s boss, who was
eventually marginalized by his own peers. Howard ended up with a bigger
job in a different part of the organization.
The second
alternative is to seek other options, both inside and out. Use the
situation as an opportunity to reassess your career, your work-life
priorities, and how you define success. When there are no catalytic
situations forcing us to think about our trajectories, we stick to a
certain path because it’s comfortable – even though it may not be
optimal. Having a bad boss can force you to think about what you really
want. In Sheila’s case, the turmoil that her boss generated pushed her
to think about getting into the start-up sphere, using the contacts she
had built over the years. In the long run, the bad boss liberated her to
pursue another direction.
Nobody likes having a bad boss. But if you do have one, there are ways to survive.
Download PDF