Archive for the ‘Humanize The Workplace’ Category
Getting a Distracted Boss’s Attention
22September 2009
Does your boss have the attention span of a fly? While you’re waiting for her to sign off on a report, is she too busy multitasking — dusting off her keyboard, sending e-mails, talking on her phone — to focus on the job at hand? Leaving you without a clue as what to do next?
Most likely, Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs), a.k.a. bad bosses, like this are suffering from work overload, unable to strategize and prioritize. As the Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT), comments and stories on my blogs at BusinessWeek and MSNBC show, when you have a distracted Little Lost Lamb with a short attention span, or other type of bad boss, you endure unnecessary stress and decreased productivity — not helping you, your boss, or the company.
As I discuss in Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, and talked with Anita Bruzesse/GannettOne, what works with small children can help your boss regain focus to get him back on track.
If you’ve got TOT stories or thoughts on humanizing the workplace, please share your story through my sites or at any of the articles on the home page of TameYourTOT.com.
P.S.You can follow me on Twitter.com, too: @workplaceexpert for my thoughts on boss and leadership matters.
You can also order newly released Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, (John Wiley & Sons) at your local bookstore or: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com or Borders.
When Bad Bosses a.k.a. TOTs, Mark Their Spot
28August 2009
The recession isn’t over yet, but some economic sectors are sprouting again, so bad bosses, a.k.a. TOTs, are taking this opportunity to act out in some specific ways.
As BusinessWeek and MSNBC point out this week, Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs)™ are in full season.
In particular, TOTs are now marking their territories like never before. Maybe they’re attempting to amass office space, sales forces, or “marking” sales territories with hoarded executive office pens! They might as well hang a sign on their doors that reads “This is MINE; go get your own stuff!” Territorialism is rampant, as mentioned in detail in my Psychology Today blog and in Forbes.com.
The problem is you have just been assigned a part of your TOT’s old sales territory - and he’s not real happy about it - even though he’s been your mentor for 11 years and you have diligently learned some of his best sales techniques. Now he is calling on his former clients, telling them that you’re a “rookie” and they should contact him because he’s the “real deal.”
What makes your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) display her territorial claims in the office?
It stands to reason that the same skills your TOT used to survive childhood and/or a former job would serve your boss well in the hand-to-hand combat of corporate life, as explained in Psychology Today entitled “Why Bosses Act Like Toddlers.” The goal is to get stuff - and keep it. Your goal is to have your TOT let go of it.
To avert conflicts, make sure that your TOT knows how much you value his or her mentoring. Promise that you’ll provide updates on former clients regularly.
Once your boss realizes that you’re not a threat, but an asset that will help the company grow, you’ll mitigate the power grab syndrome. In Tame Your Terrible Office TyrantTM (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, there are many more suggestions on how to handle difficult bosses.
Territorialism is just one of 20 Terrible Office Tyrant behaviors outlined in my book, by chapter. I am often asked to describe them. See if you can find one, two or more of these bad behaviors in your boss or co-workers in a given day or week:
BRATTY
These are the more aggressive traits that are typically activated when your TOT is operating under stress, has been taught that this behavior will achieve self-serving results, or your boss is fearful of an impending outcome:
1. Bragging
2. Bullying
3. Demanding
4. Ignoring
5. Impulsiveness
6. Lying
7. Self-Centeredness
8. Stubbornness
9. Tantrums
10. Territorialism
LITTLE LOST LAMBS
These traits are often born out of incompetence or general fear of inadequacy. While they seem benign, these boss behaviors can be just as irritating - and equally as unproductive in the workplace.
11. Whining
12. Endless Questioning
13. Fantasy World
14. Fickleness
15. Helplessness
16. Irrational Fears
17. Forgetfulness
18. Mood Swings
19. Neediness
20. Short Attention Spans
For more details on how to deal with bad bosses, TOTs and territorialism, you can order the book at Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.
Timing Helps with Bad Bosses
14August 2009
When workplace frustrations seem overwhelming because of a cranky, bad or childish boss, a.k.a., a Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT), you can quit - or decide what you want and go for it. If you like your job and are up for the challenge, then here’s my advice—focus on getting your timing right.
As TOT readers know, and as explained in Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, getting your toddlers and boss to listen to you often requires the same principles—and one is good timing.
As national career columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy mentions in her article Dealing with a bad boss isn’t easy for hamptonroads.com, and VIVMag.com states, both bad bosses and children behave in strikingly similar ways. Also see the Boston Globe’s hilariously pictorial pages of these TOT behaviors at Boston.com (in fact, you can go ahead and vote and view results).
Toddlers throw tantrums, scream “No!” and can be stubbornly demanding. Badly behaving bosses can have sudden angry outbursts, and say “No!” without any apparent reason.
Knowing how to tame your TOT will give you control and help you get what you want out of your job; and timing is critical. That includes staying out of the line of fire, as mentioned in my interview with career luminary Tory Johnson on GMA/ABC-News for “The Job Club.”
As a young mother, I learned that it was highly unwise to take my two tykes down the candy isle when it was feeding time. Taking your boss down the cubicle aisle at 11:30 a.m. while trying to get project approval? - also a bad idea.
To avoid a boss’s tantrum, plan ahead. You’ve schedule an afternoon meeting, so make sure there are high protein snacks available. They help regulate blood sugar. If you go for the sugary snacks, then you are just adding to the blood spiking problem, which will result in a later crash and fatigue. It can bring out Demanding, Fearful and other TOT inclinations (i.e., the worst in anyone.) See my regular blogs on Psychology Today, including one on Demanding bosses.
Remember to use timing to your advantage. Both you and your boss will be healthier for it. Also, try to plan meetings for earlier in the day when everyone is fresh and mental activity is up and running. Be fully prepared and confident in your skills, secure in your work achievements, and then put your timing plan to work.
With your good timing plan in hand (or securely in your head) you can tame you Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) and work comfortable in the office playground. For more details on timing and TOTs, order the book at Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.
P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed my interview today with Terri Trespicio, the host of SIRIUS Radio “Martha Stewart Whole Living.” (Visit TameYourTOT.com to listen.) She is a real pro and knew precisely what the book and topic was about; a lot of fun! Great caller questions, too.
How to Allay Job Fears
22March 2009
An article in The Washington Post recently addressed a national job related survey commissioned by my firm, Lynn Taylor Consulting, on how a boss’s closed door can trigger immense job insecurity. The survey showed that one-third of workers these days often gets nervous when they see their manager in private conferences, worrying about possible layoffs.
The telephone survey included 1,000 people, and was conducted by an independent research firm. It also showed that another third worry at least sometimes. A quarter said they rarely or never fear they’re about to be laid off, even when the boss’s door is closed. A quarter of those polled said they think the average worker spends one to two hours a day worrying about personal job concerns such as layoffs, while a fifth believed that such worries consume four or more hours a day.
Overall, 76 percent of employees think about lay-offs when suddenly faced with “the closed door,” and 2.8 hours a day was the average time spent worrying about pink slips. Clearly, managers have a lot of work to do to allay employees’ fears and boost productivity! As the author of “Tame Your Terrible Office TyrantTM,” (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009) and CEO of a consulting firm that trains executives to become more productive and trustworthy managers - these findings make it timely to be aware of the Tame your TOT (Terrible Office Tyrant)TM and Humanize Your WorkplaceTM principles.
If you’re an employee looking for tips on how to advance in your career, or your managers are stuck in the Terrible Twos (!), please visit: www.TameYourTOT.com. For the job concerns press release, click: full press release or comment at my blog.
If you’re a senior manager, and don’t want TOTs running amok in your company (and do want to keep your best talent), visit Lynn Taylor Consulting or my blog. My most basic views are at: www.lynntaylor.com. As for right now, communicate - often. If it helps to buy a $2 door stop to remain “open” to your people and their ideas, that’s a small price to pay! Opening your door literally and figuratively might even keep open the doors of your business.
Higher Unemployment: A TOT Incubator?
10January 2009
A few business executives have repeated an almost identical office scenario to me lately. And with December 2008 unemployment reaching 7.2 percent, it’s no wonder.
The scene: The boss, let’s call him “James,” calls an employee, who we’ll call “Steve,” into his office. (TOT alert?!)
Steve opens and closes the door behind him, and apprehensively approaches the guest chair. He stops, looks at his boss, and then quietly asks, “Am I getting the ax?”
James’ mouth drops, bewildered, as he freezes in his executive chair. “No! Have a seat. I was just gonna to ask you if we hired the Smith vendor.” There’s an awkward, mutual sigh of relief. This scenario brings up several points:
1) Besides the obvious heightened alert level in the office, many bosses like James may not even realize that the mere act of calling someone into their office from behind closed doors these days can make already nervous employees feel like they’re walking into a real-life suspense thriller. (Yet even managers in the company fear for their own jobs today). If the boss “act outs” once you’re there, down goes your performance.
2) Higher joblessness can unfortunately be an incubator for Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs) – they can emerge with more frequency and fervor because of the increase power they wield in this environment. The result: you must learn how to better discern fear from reality in your daily work - for better focus.
3) Some TOTs may instill so much fear (and keep you working so late) that you barely remember your home address! Or, they may display irrational fears themselves that ripple throughout the company (see: TameYourTOT-Childlike fear It’s incumbent upon you to work hard during tough times, but to also maintain enough balance to be productive.
4) Your boss may assume that employees are working at full throttle, when in fact layoffs and the recession are taking a heavy toll on productivity. If you have a good rapport with your boss, you can diplomatically suggest the need for assurances to the team where feasible. You can do your part to humanize your workplace by being a constructive conduit with this message (see: Humanize your Workplace™ article
5) If you work for a TOT, you can politely intimate: “If our valued people feel ‘unvalued’ and walk, we’ll have no company.”
Now the scene “playback”: Steve confidently walks into James’ office and says, “Morning, James, you wanted to see me?” James says, “Hey. So, what do you think? Should we hire the Smith vendor?”
Best regards,
Lynn
Got a TOT? You’re not alone! Dare to share your story at the TOT Blog with other TOT tamers in the making, while Lynn helps you: cope with difficult or childish bosses and office politics, and humanize your workplace™. Post your question for Lynn, and she will try her best to answer it in an upcoming TOT Tamer Advice Column. Be sure to visit www.tameyourtot.com.
