Archive for the ‘Managerial Techniques’ Category
New Survey Shows Bad Boss Behaviors Are On The Rise
12October 2009
A new survey commissioned by my firm, Lynn Taylor Consulting, finds that bad boss behaviors are on the rise. The five-year, national comparative study looked at bad boss (a.k.a. TOT) traits and childish behavior, such as Stubborn, Self-oriented, Overly demanding, Impulsive, Interruptive and Tantrum-throwing, and found bad boss behaviors rose by 50 percent!
The study, which was conducted from 2004 to 2009, found that “Self-oriented” catapulted to the lead in 2009, swapping places with “Stubborn” in 2004. This means that some bosses are more self-consumed than ever! The survey also found that seven in 10 Americans believe bosses and toddlers with too much power act alike. As I mentioned in BusinessWeek, we are all human and behind your boss’s professional façade is a grown kid who acts out and can’t moderate his or her power.
As I said on Fox news, TOT behaviors can be managed by employees. The whole point of TOT taming is to “manage up” — not to get revenge on your boss, or to fight fire with fire.
My book Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons) identifies 20 types of bad boss traits and offers concrete solutions to both employees and managers to tame bosses who are acting like misbehaving kids. To order go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders.
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 TameTourTOT.com. You can also follow me on Twitter.com: @workplaceexpert for my thoughts on boss and leadership matters.
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.
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.
Reducing Tension During Tough Times: Tip #3
9December 2008
As economic pressures continue to make the workplace tone somber (except for the drumbeat of occasional Terrible Office Tyrant tantrums!), I’ve been sharing ways to minimize friction at work. This week I’d like to offer to you another one of those techniques: collaboration. Knowing that you and your colleagues are all in the same boat, and putting aside differences to work together can make a big difference.
In tough times, there are two common reactions: a gloomy outlook that things will worsen – and a unique bonding experience where co-workers (and even bosses and customers) come together to make lemonade from the lemons that seem to be falling from the sky. It’s natural to have a few doubts and concerns about your job, company, and the economy, but ultimately, you want to make good things happen just like everyone else.
Even though collaboration is “mutual,” it can begin with you. Start by making a mental list of tasks that could benefit you and your team. It could be a new customer initiative, cost-cutting innovation, or a simple team-building project, such as organizing your general workspace. Check in with your boss before you start, and explain that you want to help get everyone into gear and out of the doldrums. Ask for help in defining specific tasks and timetables, and get input on who should participate. Your boss will, in all likelihood, love your initiative and pledge support to your efforts.
Once the project is a go, start recruiting co-workers. If you’re leading the charge, make sure that your goals are clear, and that you’re assigning tasks appropriately. If it’s more of a team effort, be sure to give it your all. You might make planning meetings a brown bag lunch, or an end-of-the-day event with the team’s favorite snacks - but above all, encourage open-minded, participatory and enthusiastic forums.
Remind your peers, “we’re all in this together.” The best way to ensure job security these days is to join as one and help your company make it through these tough times. As someone who cares – and is willing to do something about it, you will benefit in your own way. Meanwhile, those tantrums might even turn into low murmurs as you help boost morale.
Best regards,
Lynn
Communication Secrets: The One-On-One Meeting
2September 2008
One of the secrets of a healthy boss/employee relationship is great communication. I believe that you should meet with your boss regularly to build rapport and address questions directly. However, if you have a contentious relationship with your manager, you might have had mixed results in meetings, especially if your past attempts only dealt with your problems and gripes.
My recommendation: invest in good communication over the long-term. That includes setting up a predictable schedule for meetings, so both of you can be prepared – and neither of you feels blindsided by a surprise meeting. Be organized and prepare a basic agenda to keep the meetings on track and on schedule.
Finally, bring some balance to the meetings. Don’t just bring problems to the meetings. That casts a very dark cloud over every meeting, and your boss may understandably want to avoid regular gloom. Bring some positivity to your pow-wow. Share a status update and discuss your accomplishments since the last meeting. And don’t make it all about you…ask your boss how things are going. You might be able to help her with some of her problems, which might make her a little bit more sunny too.
Best regards,
Lynn
