You love your job and feel confident in your abilities to do good work. There’s just one problem. It’s your boss.
They are not the worst at being a supervisor, and you don’t feel unsafe in their presence. But they are difficult.
Maybe they have requested you follow a certain procedure for executing a task. Even though that’s not the most efficient way of doing things. Or they micro-manage you and question your decisions.
They could also just be apathetic, burned out, and have lost all interest in performing their duties.
What can you do? Here are some ideas for how to cope if you have a difficult boss.
Become an Expert When It Comes to Your Boss
If you read articles on this subject, the advice that’s often given is “seek to understand” your boss. But what does that mean? After all, it sometimes feels as if that your boss doesn’t make sense at all. And there is the essence of the issue.
You can’t make good decisions when you don’t have information. That includes how you work with your boss. So you need to become an expert on them. For instance:
Observe their behaviors.
How do they interact with other coworkers?
Get to know them. What are their interests?
When you understand your boss, you can make better decisions when it comes to interacting with them.
What are Their Priorities?
One important aspect of understanding a boss is knowing their priorities. For example, do they prefer reports formatted in a certain way? Or do they have a certain vision that they want to execute?
Knowing your boss’s priorities will help with not just getting along with them. It will also be useful for connecting the dots when it comes to behaviors you don’t understand.
For instance, your boss may seem stressed all the time. Maybe that stress has nothing to do with work, but really because they have issues at home that are creating stress (a medical issue with a family member, a child who is struggling in school, etc.). Even though work is a central part of our lives, it’s not the only thing.
Assuming the Best
Here’s another thing that might be surprising. What if your boss only wants the best for themselves, but also for you and the company? It’s just that they are not always attuned to making that happen.
The best way for anyone to improve is through feedback. However, giving feedback to your boss can be intimidating. Yet, organizations are innovating how feedback occurs. In the past, it might be that feedback was top down.
But now organizations are embracing a more holistic perspective when it comes to feedback. That’s because they want their employees to feel like they belong to a community. Use your company’s feedback process to provide that feedback.
Find Someone to Process
If feedback isn’t an option, then it’s still important for you to process what you are experiencing. Consider if there is a family member or friend you can talk to. It can help to have others listen to what you are going through as a source of support and comfort.
Talking to a Professional
It’s also helpful to talk to someone not associated with your company at all. That’s where therapy comes in. Your therapist only has your best interests in mind and will be able to hear your thoughts on why your boss is so difficult. They will also be able to provide their own insights and suggestions for navigating this issue.
Yet, if things are so bad that you want to leave, talking to a therapist about career counseling will help you with making the right decision.
Everyone has a difficult boss at some point in their careers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t cope, and even thrive, in those circumstances. Try the tips above and consider therapy for additional support as well as career counseling. Contact me for a free consultation.