Weekly       eCoach

BORA Consulting - Consultancy for Entrepreneurs - Ralf Borlinghaus
contact: ralf.borlinghaus@bora-consulting.com, +41 44 58 66 157

It's only Monday and you can't wait for the weekend. The boss is driving you crazy. You don't know if you can make it through the day without an outburst. You feel lost in the corporate maze. Abandoned by your boss. Out of control of your career. Or maybe he's breathing down your neck so often you could scream.

What's the problem? What exactly is it about your boss that drives you crazy? Is your boss micromanager? This type of boss is controlling, overly involved, and needs to develop more confidence in you. Your solution is to prove you're capable. Start asking for complete control over small tasks to prove you're able and keep asking for more.

Maybe your boss is a non-manager? You know: the kind that's indecisive, hesitant, and vague. You need to guide this type of boss. Instead of giving open-ended questions, offer answer choices. Be specific with your requests.

If your boss is an unreasonable manager that overloads you with work, ask him what his priorities are and for options to deal with what you can't handle. Maybe even ask for a part-timer's help.

Support your manager. Be his buddy. It might be painful.  Basically speak your boss' language. If your boss loves hockey, talk about hockey, even integrate hockey analogies into your proposals to the boss. It's one way to really get his attention.

Everyone wants a boss that will promote him, improve him, and go to bat for him. But unfortunately not everyone is so lucky. If your boss doesn't want to get to know you as an employee or a person, force them to see you. You have to make sure your boss knows your accomplishments, the extra work you put in, and a bit about your personal life. It will help motivating him to reward your hard work and give you the vacation time you requested to spend with your family.

Do things feel unbearable? Stop and think for a moment if your attitude could also be feeding into that feeling. Try to be more flexible; you may find others will try to be more flexible with you. While it might be hard to swallow your pride, you need to at least try to make it work. Ask yourself and your boss what you could be doing differently.

Know when to bail. Sometimes, there is just no way to make it work. Maybe you and your boss have repelling personalities or work styles. Maybe you're in a dead-end position. Then start looking out for new opportunities.

If you're dealing with a larger issue than just career frustrations, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, or privacy invasion, you want to get your human resources friends involved. For additional advice on these situations, check out www.badbossology.com, which offers a how-to on dealing with all types of bad bosses.

  Your comment is welcome

"A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends."
                  Baltasar Gracián y Morales S.J. (1601-1658)
 

Well Drilled Boss                                                         

Strategic Self-Manager                                               

The Beatles

With A Little Help From My Friends

  It's good to have some good friends to get a little help from - just in case. The golden rule of making friends is to become valuable first. It's always a give and take, however, you better give first without expecting anything.