Halloween Tips for Dealing with a Scary Boss

Ghosts, goblins, and zombies are scary. But working for a bully boss can be terrifying — like living with a creature from the black lagoon. If we allow ourselves to be a victim of a horrible boss we could even end up in an early grave.

Most bad bosses aren’t evil. They’re often good people doing a bad job. This may be because of low leadership skills or he or she may have a “fatal flaw” that overshadows their strengths. As Jack Zenger was quoted in last week’s Wall Street Journal article “The Truth About Bad Bosses“, “most bad bosses sin by omission, failing to articulate clearly what they want or failing to confront others when things are amiss. They’re not good at collaborating with other people in the organization and they’re not transparent with their groups.”

The good news is that our research shows “Bad Leaders Can Change Their Spots“. In this study 71 of 96 leaders were able to address their fatal flaws effectively enough to see a dramatic rise in their perceived leadership effectiveness over 18 – 24 months.

If you’re challenged with working for an ineffective or even bad boss who isn’t about to change his or her spots you can either lead, follow, or wallow. Here’s where you can find tips, tools, and techniques for leading your boss:

• “Stop Whining and Start Leading”
• “Bad Boss: Learn How to Manage Your Manager”
• “Being a Strong Leader Despite a Bad Boss”
• “Reflections on “Nine Leadership Behaviors” and a Bad Boss”
• “Lead Your Boss to Build Support for Your Development”
• “This Just In … Kissing up to Your Boss Doesn’t Work”
• “Refusing to be Victimized by a Bad Boss“

Don’t be tricked into following or wallowing like an ineffective leader because you have a bad boss. Treat yourself to upward leadership and act like a leader.