All of us meet people who are difficult to get along with throughout our lives. We soon learn to ignore or avoid them. However, if such a person is your direct superior, ignoring or avoiding will not help you. You need to learn to behave in such a way that will be beneficial for both of you. That is, at least, the opinion of Deepak Chopra, a world famous physician and writer, who recently published an article on LinkedIn on the topic of on how to deal with a bad boss.
Deepak Chopra is an Indian-born American physician and author. He is one of the world's leading authorities in the field of healthy lifestyles and personal development. He has written more than 80 books that have been translated into 43 languages, with more than 20 million copies published. Many of the books have become New York Times bestsellers in both fiction and non-fiction categories. Deepak Chopra also speaks at many conferences. He gave his first speech in Prague in 2014. This May he is going to speak in Prague again. According to him, success in managing a bad boss, requires the following steps.
1. Clarify your boss' problem
To choose the right approach to communicating with your difficult boss, you must first be clear about what makes your boss such a problem. The answer may include different aspects of behavior such as aggression, anger, perfectionism, obsession with control, indecision, uncertainty, and so on.
2. Do not try to rectify your boss' behavior
Do not act as a psychoanalyst who can change other people's behavior. You can't change ingrained behaviors, even if you can clearly assess the problem exactly.
3. Focus on communication
Do not start communicating with your boss by trying to advise him or venting your accumulated emotions. First, watch and listen so that you can assess what your boss wants to talk about and how willing he is to listen to you. Be patient and open.
4. Avoid unnecessary conflict
Every person is susceptible to some things that trigger emotions but each of us should know what they are. When your boss touches a nerve, you should know that negative reactions will not help. Concentrate on staying calm.
5. Do not slander your boss, whatever he is like
When you spread gossip or listen and join other gossipers, you will improve neither your relationship with your boss nor your inner feeling. On the contrary, you may do even more harm. Remember that your goal is to maximize the positive aspects of your relationship with the boss and minimize the negative ones.
Sometimes it may happen that you can't get along with your boss even with your best effort. Then it is better to leave. Deepak Chopra will focus on how to recognize a boss you had better leave in his next article.
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