Some bosses are great! Some…not so much. Here are my 3 best ideas on what you can do with the difficult ones:
1. Try to see their point of view. Most bosses have their boss putting demands on them and that may be part of the reason they’re difficult. If you can “get in their shoes” and see their challenges, that often enables both of you to work together easier. Instead of taking communication from your boss personally, think about what is causing them to act that way and look for a way you can actually help them. You don’t have to like someone to help them and doing this sometimes causes great result with bosses.
2. Provide some self-leadership. The best leaders set goals, coach, mentor, share accountability, etc. Well, you can do a lot of that yourself. Set goals! Ask for more work! Be accountable! It takes courage and ambition, but there is not much that will ease stress with your boss like managing yourself. Find out what the best bosses do, and do that to yourself. You might be amazed at how your relationship changes.
3. Focus on the mission. Your customers are counting on your product or service. In spite of your boss or anybody else, your actions either contribute to or take away from the customer. Even if your boss is directing you to take actions to hurt the customer (an extreme example) there are other things you can do FOR the customer. Thinking and acting for the customer often makes your difficult internal relationships less relevant.
P.S. If you’re a boss, do these same things to keep from being difficult.
Bob Ramsey 