No Bull Business Blog

Making the best of a difficult boss

Excerpted from the executive report: Stopping Difficult People from Sucking the Life Out of Your Organization

It won’t always be an underling whose behavior you’re trying to change. In real life, the people who manage us can be difficult, too. If handled with tact, these techniques can be used successfully to address problematic behavior with superiors.

Your approach, how a problem is presented, becomes especially important and can have a big impact on success. A positive approach is almost always the way to go.

Let’s say you have a manager who is throwing you assignments at the last minute and leaving you in the lurch. If it happens all the time, it’s a problem. Your performance will eventually suffer because of it.

Be positive and firm: “Jim, when I get an assignment at the last minute it really puts me in a situation where I have to give up something else or I can’t do as good of a job as I normally would do. Is there some way we can work this out that I can sort of anticipate better when these kinds of assignments are coming?”

Remember, what you’re saying in reverse is: “Hey Jim, you’re an awful planner. Do you know that?” So of course, approach these with caution.

Sometimes the nature of your business won’t allow for better planning, for instance if you work for an emergency ambulance service. But at least, having had the discussion, everyone’s on the same page and there is a better understanding as to why assignments arise at the last minute.

Remember, you can’t fix everything. If you’ve thoroughly examined your own situation and you’ve come to the conclusion that your manager is just a jerk, that’s a lot more difficult. Your first question should be: Is the behavior really causing me a problem?

If it is, then you may be at the point where you have to either ask for a change of assignment or decide maybe this is not where you want to be.

DIGGING DEEPER
Whether it is a superior or a subordinate, dealing with difficult people takes a lot of you - and hurts morale and productivity. This Executive Report can help: Stopping Difficult People from Sucking the Life Out of Your Organization.

Don’t give in to OSHA nitpickers

Excepted from the Executive Report: Surviving an OSHA Inspection – Key Steps Before, During and After

OSHA inspectors have a well-deserved reputation for being the ultimate nitpickers. Once they show up at your door, they’re going to try to find something wrong and nail you for a violation. In recent years, OSHA has worked a little on its nitpicking image. They now say they won’t fine you for picayune violations like failing to display the required OSHA poster – they’ll just go to the car and get one for you – but there’s little else that will escape their attention and their sharp pencils.

OSHA regulations can be incredibly complicated and specific, and it’s not that hard to run afoul of one of the agency’s regulations, for example on the exact distance a machine guard has to be separated from a nip point by a matter of a fraction of an inch.

Companies are often tempted to agree to a minor, non-serious violation, pay a small fine of a few hundred dollars, and write it off as the cost of doing business. You promise not to do it again or fix any deficiency, and hopefully you can get on with life. However, most attorneys will advise their corporate clients not to “plead guilty” too fast and explore all opportunities for contesting even minor violations.

The problem with agreeing to and accepting a citation and a fine is that it’s often not the end of something bad, but merely the beginning. Once OSHA has inspected you at least one time and found something wrong, the agency may well be your pen pal for life. It’ll surely check up on you to see if you’re corrected what it found wrong. And if it’s still not satisfied, it can level repeat or failure-to-abate violations against you with significantly higher fines that will sting a lot more.

Moreover, if an employee ever gets hurt on your premises and finds a lawyer to sue your company for gross negligence or willful disregard for safety, seeking a big payout over and above workers’ compensation insurance benefits, the plaintiff’s lawyer will surely use the fact of your previous safety violation as evidence of your supposed blatant disregard for worker safety. You don’t want to give them a record to build their case on.

DIGGING DEEPER
Even the best companies get inspected by OSHA. The key is to be prepared. Find out what you need to do by reading the Executive Report: Surviving an OSHA Inspection – Key Steps Before, During and Afte