Most people at some point in their lives have to deal with a difficult boss. You may not be able to always correct their behavior, but you should never have to live in fear and let your difficult boss control your life.
Here are some strategies on handling a difficult boss situation.
Always have a plan B
Most people are scared about a discussion with their boss concerning their abusive behavior because they fear reprimand or losing their jobs as a result of it. Their fear is usually justified if supervisor is a control-freak and feels that subordinate is threatening their control. Before you deal with any type of conflict, you always need to have a plan B in case things don't work out. Having a plan B empowers you with the ability to walk-away at any time should the negotiation not go right.
Never react to verbal abuse harsh criticism with emotion
This will always get you in more trouble than you started with because it will become a war between egos and chances are good that your boss has a bigger ego than you have- hence why s/he is difficult in the first place.
When personal attack is made on you, they are trying to bait you reacting emotionally because once you react you become an easy target for additional attacks. The key then is not to react, but to acknowledge and move on. If your boss happens to be an intimidator or a control freak, then the best way of dealing with their behavior is to remain clam and acknowledge their power.
Discuss rather than confront
When your boss criticizes you, don't react out of emotion and become confrontational with them about it because that just breeds more conflict. Instead, use their criticism as a topic for discussion on interests, goals, and problem solving and ask them for their advice. If they criticise your work, then means that they have their own idea on how that work should be done, so ask for their advice on how work can be improved.
Manage the manager
A source of conflict usually occurs when a group of employees get a new manager who demands that things run differently. Instead of waiting for their criticism, take a proactive approach and be absolutely clear from the very beginning on how your boss wants things to be done so that there is no miscommunication.
Know that you can do little to change your boss
Being a difficult person is a part of their personality and therefore it is a very difficult, if not possible, things to change in a supervisor, so don't think that you can change the way that you view their behavior. Don't label them as your boss. By avoid making it easy on yourself to be angry with your boss.
Evaluate your own performance
Before you go attacking your boss, examine your own performance and ask yourself if you are doing everything right. Get opinions from other co-workers about your performance and see if there is any warrent to the criticisms of your supervisor before you criticise their opinions.
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