How to Deal with a Difficult Boss
Building and maintaining one of the most important relationships in your life — even when it’s tough
Having a bad relationship with your boss is one sure way to increase your stress and decrease your productivity. On the other hand, having a good relationship with your boss — even when they’re difficult — can make the workday seem so much easier and more fulfilling. I’ve been fortunate to have several great bosses throughout my career but I’ve also had to deal with a few not so great ones.
I’d like to share some things I’ve learned about how I built and maintained great (or at least bearable) relationships with my past leaders — both good and bad.
Comply with their requests
Some things are just common sense, but as imperfect creatures, we humans sometimes get even the simplest things wrong. To the best of your ability and as long as what’s being asked of you is ethical, you should always comply with requests made by your boss. This is true even if you don’t think it makes sense or if you think your boss would never find out you didn’t.
It’s fine to suggest an alternative way of doing something if you think you have a better idea (see the next tip), but if your boss disagrees you should proceed with…
