It is one of the most frustrating and demoralizing things we can face in our professional lives, and we have all been there; we have all said it. “My boss is an idiot!” Boss, can mean supervisor, manager, etc. There are many different ways to express this sentiment, but it all boils down to the same thing. Our expectations from our boss are not being realized. So, what do you do when you have a bad boss? There are only two options.
- Support them. This is the ideal option. If you have a boss that is receptive to feedback and is trying to do a good job, this is where you want to be! Sometimes people are hired or promoted based on many things, but sometimes on potential. If you can help them get better, then do it! As a leader, there is nothing better than having people there to support you. Knowing your team is there to make you better and that want to push the team to meet the organizational objectives is the best situation to be in.
- Change nothing. You can continue with how you are working and change nothing. This is an option if things are going well and you just have a poor performing boss. Or if your boss is weak and refuses to listen or their ego won’t let them. Although, this is a very frustrating person to work for, usually, your boss’s boss will know how they are performing and you won’t have to deal with them long.
The last thing you want to do is to try to sabotage or make your boss look bad. Doing so will cause much more drama than it is worth and there is a very real possibility you will lose your job. They have the positional power and will wield it regularly, especially if you are trying to sabotage them.
Most of the advice you are likely to get is to keep pushing through, and things will work out. That your efforts will be noticed and even if your boss is bad, you will be promoted or recognized in the way you need. But this doesn’t always happen. The best thing you can do it read the situation, if it is really bad, begin looking for a new position or place to work. If you can deal with the bad things your boss does and you are otherwise happy with where you are at, then stay and enjoy those things that make you happy. Decide on what you want and work to make that goal happen. Sometimes you will need your boss to reach your goal if so, build a relationship with them and make it happen.
Managers make a huge difference in our lives, and bad ones can make things miserable. But good ones can make a good situation great if you can find them!
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