7 Ways to Deal With a Negative Boss

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If you are bursting with good ideas, but your boss always rejects suggestions out of hand, it’s very hard to stay positive and continue to think creatively. What can you do to keep your own creative spirit alive, and try to bring about positive changes in spite of the negative atmosphere?[wcm_restrict]

  1. Brainstorm strategies for making change. You and your coworkers have probably witnessed some improvements and changes. Even the most negative boss can’t stop all forward progress. So, ask yourself how those changes came about. What process is most acceptable to your boss? Who does he feel he has to listen to? Then recreate the successful strategies when you decide to propose something new.
  2. Avoid too much interaction with a negative boss. Try to keep the face-time to the minimum required, and to keep it civil and polite. Spend as much time as you can interacting with people who are more positive and have a healthy can-do attitude, so your own attitude doesn’t turn negative too.
  3. Innovate outside of work. Find ways to engage in creative, forward-thinking activities in volunteer work or a part-time extra job, internship or hobby, so you can stay fresh and get to strengthen your innovation muscles. A bad boss is no excuse to let your creativity atrophy!
  4. Make suggestions on paper, not in person or by email, to give your boss time to digest them. The longer you can delay her response to a suggestion, the more likely he’ll get over her initial knee-jerk resistance to change and actually look at the idea on its merit.
  5. Allow your boss to revise your idea and propose it as his own. I know, it’s so irritating when your boss rejects your suggestion, then proposes it himself a month later. But look at the bright side-at least this means there’s a way to make progress, even if it does involve accommodating an over-inflated ego.
  6. Build your own coalition for innovation. Sometimes it’s possible to reach out to others in power in a workplace and build a strong personal network, based on your bright ideas and enthusiasm for positive change. If you can do so, do so! You may be able to work with your coalition to bring about innovation. Let them pull your boss’s strings and force him to bring your unit in line with the new direction you helped create.
  7. Watch the bottom line and jump ship if your boss seems determined to run you up on the rocks. The biggest problem with change-resistant bosses is they don’t lead very well. Often, their department, division or business does poorly for lack of innovation. If that’s the story at your workplace, you probably should begin to look for another job with a better boss and more momentum. It’s hard to be a rising star when you’re working on a sinking ship.

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About the Author

Alex Hiam (www.alexhiam.com) is the author of more than 20 popular books on business, including Business Innovation For Dummies, Marketing For Dummies, and Marketing Kit for Dummies. A lecturer at the business school at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he has consulted with many Fortune 500 firms and large U.S. government agencies.

StrategyDriven Podcast

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 41 – An Interview with Susan Bagyura, author of The Visionary Leader

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 41 – An Interview with Susan Bagyura, author of The Visionary Leader explores how to lead one’s employees to have a success-focused mindset and then translate that mindset into the actions that will not only move the organization forward but also help it achieve greater levels of success. During our discussion, Susan Bagyura, author of The Visionary Leader: How To Inspire Success From The Top Down shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what is a Visionary Leader
  • observable benefits Visionary Leaders realize
  • characteristics and personality traits of Visionary Leaders, including their observable behaviors
  • how Visionary Leaders link the organization’s goals with those of individual employees and then maintain accountability for their achievement
  • key actions individuals should take to become Visionary Leaders
  • challenges Visionary Leaders may encounter when working with individuals who are positionally senior or more experienced and how to overcome these obstacles

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable insights Susan shares in The Visionary Leader and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from her websites, www.TheVisionaryLeader.com and www.SusanBagyura.com.   Susan’s book, The Visionary Leader, can be purchased by clicking here.

About the Author

Susan Bagyura is author of The Visionary Leader. With over twenty-five years of sales, marketing, and entrepreneurial experience, Susan works with clients to attract, motivate and develop their employees, starting with the leadership team and then going throughout the organization. Her coaching and consulting practice is centered on helping small businesses grow by increasing sales and profits, improving communications, and reducing staff attrition. To read Susan’s complete biography, click here.
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The Truth Behind Disappearing Office Supplies

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New Survey Reveals “Supply-Jackers” in Offices Nationwide, Why Working Americans Pilfer Supplies, and the Struggle Professionals Go Through to Protect Their Favorites

It happens all the time. You open a brand new package of your favorite pens. The quality, design, and color are just right. The day comes and goes and then suddenly, the pen is gone, never to be seen or written with again. According to the new survey OfficeMax Workplace Undercover Survey, employed Americans are no strangers to this scenario, as supplies in their workspaces go missing quite often. Working Americans admit they take supplies from the office for their personal use at home or hold on to borrowed products they should have returned to their colleagues. But when their favorite supplies aren’t at their disposal, their workday suffers. When such productivity is put into question, the office supply enthusiast knows no bounds. They go the distance to keep their loot safe, from placing them in a special drawer to covering the item in labels sharing their contact information.

[wcm_restrict]1) Now You See It, Now You Don’t

  • Disappearing Act. There seems to be a lot of dwindling workspaces popping up across the nation. Eighty-one percent of employed Americans who report missing supplies from their work area say that pens, pencils, or highlighters are M.I.A. most often. Other disappearing goods include paper products (35%), paper clips or binder clips (28%), staplers (22%), and scissors (20%).

*Among Respondents Who Report Missing Office Supplies From Their Work Area

 

  • Coworkers Confess. Perhaps it’s the people working closest to you who are responsible. More than four in ten (42%) confess they’ve borrowed supplies from a colleague and never returned it. The most popular loot 82 percent of them have taken are pens, pencils or highlighters.
  • Behind the Borrowing. Eighty-four percent of those who come clean as to why they’ve held onto their colleague’s goods confess they simply forgot to return the product. Others (26%) say they just didn’t think their coworker would miss it. Close to a quarter (23%) admit they never returned the materials in the past because their colleague had done the same thing to them! – More men than women (32% vs. 14%) willing to report why they borrowed supplies from a colleague and never returned it say it’s because their coworker had once done the same thing to them.
  • Homeward Bound. This obsessive behavior isn’t restricted to the workplace. In fact, employed Americans are so attached to some office products that close to six in ten (56%) have taken products from work to use at home.
  • Always an Excuse. For those who aren’t afraid to admit why they did this, they sure have their reasons. Three in ten (30%) say they considered it an act of borrowing and planned to bring the supplies back, while 25 percent just didn’t think their employer would miss it. Others admit they pilfered products because it was easier to take the supply from the office than purchase it on their own (27%) or because they didn’t have the time to get it outside of work (24%).


*Among Respondents Who Have Ever Taken Supplies from Their Place of Employment for Use at Home and Were Willing to Report Why They Did This

 

  • Run and Hide. So it’s not surprising that a majority (68%) of working Americans have taken matters into their own hands by finding ways to ensure their favorite provisions don’t go missing. Some keep their much-loved office paraphernalia in a special designated drawer (59%) or in a secret space in their work area (45%). Others order additional quantities of certain products to make certain they’re never low (51%) or label their supplies with their contact information (31%). – More employed women than men (73% vs. 63%) report they’ve taken steps to ensure their office products don’t go missing.

2) What Favorites Are Made Of

  • Quality Matters. So why do Americans go to such great lengths to protect their supplies? Perhaps it’s because close to half (46%) think that having quality office equipment plays a critical role in being successful on the job.

 

  • Picky Fingers. They are so influenced by their beloved products that 34 percent sometimes bring their own stash to work if what is available doesn’t meet their requirements. And there are plenty of goods they need to have at work to perform efficiently. Seventy percent of employed Americans willing to weigh in on the topic say it’s impossible to work without their favorite brand, type, or model of pens, pencils, or highlighters.
  • Failure to Work. Others can’t work if they aren’t able to get their hands on paper products (41%) or printer ink (40%) in their favorite brand, type, or model.
  • A Few of My Favorite Things. So what makes a product so amazing? Close to seven in ten (69%) say the functionality or performance of an office product can make or break how special they consider it to be. Quality (66%), value (47%), innovation (41%), and aesthetics (25%) also influence why working Americans are so particular about their products.

Research Methodology Notes:

The OfficeMax Workplace Undercover Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between April 23 and May 2, 2010 using Random Digit Dialing of listed and unlisted numbers. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.0 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About OfficeMax

OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) is a leader in both business-to-business office products solutions and retail office products. The OfficeMax mission is simple. We help our customers do their best work. The company provides office supplies and paper, in-store print and document services through OfficeMax ImPress®, technology products and solutions, and furniture to businesses and individual consumers. OfficeMax customers are served by more than 30,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, e-commerce and approximately 1,000 stores. To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX. For more information, visit www.officemax.com.

About Kelton Research

Kelton Research is a full service global insights firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York, and is America’s fastest growing Market Research Consultancy. Serving as strategic partner to more than 100 of the Fortune 500 and thousands of smaller companies and organizations, Kelton Research utilizes a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to drive tactical recommendations for clients. For more information about Kelton Research services, please call toll-free 1.888.8.KELTON or visit www.keltonresearch.com.

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 40b – An Interview with Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader, part 2 of 2

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 40b – An Interview with Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader, part 2 of 2 examines how a people-centered relational leadership approach breaks down organizational barriers and engages and motivates employees for achievement of truly superior results. During our discussion, Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader: A Revolutionary Framework to Engage Your Team shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the methods Relational Leaders use to hold employees accountable for the achievement of assigned tasks and goals
  • the activities executives and managers should engage in to become more relational in their leadership approach
  • the actions executives and managers can take to transform their company into a relational organization

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable insights Frank shares in The Relational Leader and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.FJMcIntosh.com.   Frank’s book, The Relational Leader published by Course Technology PTR – a part of Cengage Learning, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

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Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Frank McIntosh is author of The Relational Leader. During his 36 year career, Frank has worked with many of the most recognized companies and executives in the world. He has provided consulting services for peers across the country and helped initiate Junior Achievement programs in Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan. Frank was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame in October 2008, one of 38 individuals so honored and the first not-for-profit executive to receive this distinction in Delaware’s 300 year business history. To read Frank’s complete biography, click here.
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StrategyDriven Portfolio Management Warning Flag Article

Portfolio Management Warning Flag 1 – Management Distractions

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At times, organizations undertake ‘bet the company’ projects, initiatives so risky because of their sheer size, strategic importance, and/or operational impact that the project’s failure could bankrupt the company. ‘Bet the company’ projects necessarily demand heightened management awareness and focus, however, excessive diversion of leadership’s attention to these types of projects and away from others and/or day-to-day operations could also jeopardize the organization.[wcm_restrict plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]

High profile projects attract the attention of all organization members for a variety of reasons. Interest in such projects is understandable and healthy; generally creating a sense of excitement that:

  • keeps organization members engaged and informed
  • builds management and employee ownership and pride
  • eases change management impacts

Yet a shift in focus is not without cost. Leaders and employees have a limited amount of time to manage and executive on all of the organization’s activities. When an increasing amount of this time is dedicated to the high profile project, all other activities necessarily forfeit management and execution time typically resulting in declining performance. Some decline is expected and planned for as a ‘cost’ of performing the ‘big project.’ It is when this diversion goes beyond the expectation that the organization enters a dangerous zone. Not only does performance suffer but the ability to detect declining performance is also reduced; creating a potential performance ‘death spiral’ that when discovered may not be recoverable. Additionally, as organizational attention is diverted to the high profile project, so too are resources; often unconsciously and at the detriment of other projects and ongoing operations.

High profile project distractions occur for a variety of reasons because of either a lack of preventive measures and/or errant behaviors. While not all inclusive, the four lists below, Process-Based Warning Flags, Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors, Potential, Observable Results, and Potential Causes, are designed to help organization leaders recognize when an inappropriately high level of management and employee attention is diverted to one or more high profile projects and away from smaller initiatives and ongoing business operations. Only after a problem is recognized and its causes identified can the needed action be taken to move the organization toward improved performance.

Process-Based Warning Flags

  • Few, non-existent, and/or poorly defined key operational performance measures
  • Few, non-existent, and/or poorly defined small project key performance measures
  • Lack of human resources processes to ensure an appropriate distribution of quality personnel/top talent among all business functions

Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors

  • Poorly maintained, misunderstood, and/or inadequately reviewed key operational performance measures
  • Poorly maintained, misunderstood, and/or inadequately reviewed small project key performance measures
  • Rampant personnel transfer requests to the high profile project
  • Propensity of executives and managers to assign all of the organization’s top talent to high profile projects and away from some portions of the organization
  • Recurring assignment of underperforming personnel to a particular division, department, or work center
  • Managers cut corners so to funnel monetary resources allocated to small projects and core business operations to the high profile project
  • Disproportionate amount of executive and manager time spent on the high profile project in meetings
  • Routine deferment of small project and operational reviews to increase the amount of time spent on the high profile project’s oversight
  • Failure to specifically designated leaders to oversee continued small project and operational performance
  • Dropping small project and ongoing operational highlights from the formal organizational communications channels
  • Excessive water cooler time spent discussing the high profile project

Potential, Observable Results

  • Delays in small project completion and declining operational productivity
  • Increasing number of safety violations/incidents often resulting in higher workman’s compensation payout rates and lost personnel work time
  • Rising maintenance backlogs resulting in an increasing rate of equipment failures and work stoppages
  • Rising customer order backlogs
  • Increasing quality defect rate resulting in an increasing number of customer complaints, rising number of returns and warranty repair/replacement costs, and a declining number of orders
  • Rising number of regulatory and environmental violations leading to heightened governmental scrutiny and fines
  • Increasing instances where executives and managers lack knowledge of recent operational events

Potential Causes

  • Heightened excitement of being associated with the high profile project
  • Exaggerated concern for the success of the high profile project
  • False sense that well today’s running processes will continue to do so without management oversight
  • Lack of overall organizational experience with large projects

The effect of these potential causes is amplified if the organization has not experienced such a significant event in a long period of time or the initiative is an industry first.

Final Thought…

By its very nature, management distraction can be extremely difficult to recognize. Therefore, it is often beneficial for an organization implementing a ‘bet the company’ project to enlist the assistance of an outside organization to identify whether or not the organization’s executives and managers are unduly distracted from smaller projects and the company’s ongoing operations. The value of engaging outside assistance is described in the StrategyDriven article Strategic Analysis Best Practice 4 – Independent Assessors and StrategyDriven Podcast episode – Independent Assessors.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]

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