We have all worked with that bad boss! Not every boss is a good boss, as just about everyone has experienced in their working life.
Maybe you’ve never been considered for a promotion, because you’re not one of the boss’s ‘favourite’ employees.
Or perhaps they often give you ‘urgent’ work just before the end of the day, insisting that it can’t wait until you get to work tomorrow.
No matter what they do, bosses like these can drive us crazy. They’re often either power-mad with giant egos, or just plain clueless.
Bad bosses make us miserable; dealing with their negative behaviours day in and day out is exhausting. It’s all too common, and its bosses, not companies that people are often actually leaving.
If you’re dealing with a bad boss, you can make it a good thing for your career. Here’s how.
Learning not to jump ship straight away
We all face challenges, and running away almost never solves the problem. It might seem like a good idea at the time to just up and quit when you have a bad boss, but you won’t be doing yourself any favours.
If you haven’t been strategic and lined up another position before quitting, you’ll find yourself desperate and taking the first offer you get. And often, you end up even more miserable than you were originally, under an even worse boss.
You need to take the time to make sure that any job changes are for the benefit of your career. Having the self-control and the patience to search for the right opportunity, rather than instantly running away, will serve you well in your career.
Learning how to deal with others’ emotions, and controlling your own reactions
It may not be fun, but every time you have a conflict with your bad boss, you’ve got the opportunity to improve your emotional intelligence skills.
By handling situations where your boss blows up, instead of getting angry right back at them, you’re learning how to manage conflict. This is an incredible skill set for anyone to have, especially those of you who aspire to be leaders. Great leaders can handle tense situations, making the workplace run smoother.
Learning how to be a better boss
What better way to learn what behaviours to avoid as a leader than by experiencing them yourself? Knowing how the actions of a bad boss affects employees like yourself personally gives you an important lesson in leadership.
Use the knowledge of what not to do, so that you can become a better boss than they were.
You can grab a copy of my FREE Leadership Planner here to be a better leader!
Find the positives in any situation
Dealing with a bad boss is never easy, but you need to remember that you can learn a lot from the experience. Using the lessons you’ve learned, you can move forward in your professional development and your career – and that’s worth the misery of a bad boss.
Your time with your bad boss will come to an end, so take the time to make sure your next move is a great one!
About McDonald Inc.
Our Leadership Legacy
At McDonald Inc., we know that courageous leaders inspire courageous action. For more than 20 years our founder Sonia McDonald has been nurturing executives, businesses and leadership teams through leadership coaching and leadership programs.
We don’t just train your employees we transform them into courageous leaders. Whether you are looking to continue to develop your high performing leaders and teams or need help turning around a poor leadership culture, McDonald Inc. offers in-house programs and coaching.
Mission
To foster courageous leadership in organisations across the globe by training, mentoring and coaching emerging leaders, team leaders, managers and executives.
Vision
At McDonald Inc. we seek to foster courageous and kind leadership so that the people leave work smiling each day, in turn creating more prosperous and successful businesses.
Brand Values
McDonald Inc. develops the skills, confidence, and leadership of leaders at any point in their journey as well as facilitating cultural transformation. We benefit our clients by assisting them to have higher staff retention, improved performance through teamwork and an overall more profitable bottom line.
Contact us
Website – https://www.mcdonaldinc.com.au/
Email – letschat@mcdonaldinc.com.au
Phone – 1300 719 665
About the Author Sonia McDonald CEO of McDonald Inc and LHQ
Sonia McDonald believes we should lead with kindness, from the heart, doing rather than telling and is known for her mantra ‘Just lead’. She leads by example in all these areas and through her one on one practical coaching, leadership training for teams and organisations encourages others to do the same. Sonia has helped hundreds of people on their leadership journey to become the best version of themselves and in turn, inspire and bring out the best in others.
For more than 25 years, Sonia has been on the front lines of HR. She has held leadership positions worldwide and through experience, research and study come to realise what it takes to be a truly great leader.
Sonia has an ability to speak bravely and authentically about her own development as a leader, personal and career challenges in a way which resonates with her audience. She is recognised as a LinkedIn influencer and has become an in-demand keynote speaker, starts important conversations.
She is an award-winning published author and writes regularly for publications such as The Australian, HRD Magazine, Smart Healthy Women and Women’s Business Media. Sonia has become recognised for her commentary around the topic of leadership, developing work-life balance, championing the up and coming leaders of tomorrow and advocating for women in business and male-dominated industries.
Keynote Topics
Sonia will give you peace of mind when booking a speaker. She is a proven world-class professional speaker with the skills to “rock an audience”. Her energy, empathy, kindness, sensitivity, and humour will enhance any event she appears.
1. Leadership Attitude
2. Just Rock It
3. Leadership for Small Business
4. Leading the Next Generations
5. Courageous Leadership
6. Future Leaders of Leadership
7. New Kindness of Leadership
Phone 1300 719 665
