Management Tip of the Day: Difficult Boss? Talk to Her Former Employees

 

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July 18, 2013 Difficult Boss? Talk to Her Former Employees If your boss isn't a good guide and doesn't support you, it's up to you to get what you need. If you can easily get in touch with someone who used to work for your boss, invite him out for coffee. Explain that you're eager to develop in your role, and that you'd like to pick his brain about working with and learning from your boss. Pitch it as a tutorial, not as a gripe session: See if he can share insights about her mentoring style, for example, and tips on how to earn her trust. Even if you feel safe confiding in this person, assume that anything you say could make its way back to your boss and edit yourself accordingly. Adapted from the HBR Guide to Office Politics.

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FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Office Politics HBR Press Books EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS ITS SHARE OF POLITICAL DRAMA: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. It can make you crazy if you're trying to keep your head down and get your job done. The problem is, you can't just keep your head down. You need to work productively with your colleagues—even the challenging ones—for the good of your organization and your career. How can you do that without crossing over to the dark side? By acknowledging that power dynamics and unwritten rules exist—and by constructively navigating them. "Politics" needn't be a dirty word. You can succeed at work without being a power grabber or a corporate climber. Whether you're a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you: (1) Build relationships with difficult people, (2) gain allies and influence others, (3) wrangle resources, (4) move up without ruffling feathers, (5) avoid power games and petty rivalries, and (6) claim credit when it's due. Buy It Now

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