6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers

June 12th, 2008 No Comments   Posted in Communication Skill

The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting, especially when you inherit them! If they are your own born and bred, then hopefully they would have evolved into great managers!

Experience shows that difficult managers are difficult because they are angry and frustrated about something or somebody (even themselves - especially where they are, or have become, a square peg in a round hole of a job), so the steps to take are these:-

# Always a first is to build great relationships with your people. This involves protected one-to-one time, where they feel valued. Get to know them. ‘Getting to know the name of their dog’ has a good feel to it! Get them talking about anything and everything that is important to them - this deflects the ‘difficult’ bit and creates a common place for you to communicate. It also builds all those things like trust and valued-ness etc.

# Get really clear on standards for all of your managers and get them involved in the process. Itinerant trouble-makers usually fall in if the majority do. Do the same with personal objectives based on their best skillset, not their worst. It’s easier to get success from things folks are good at then waste energy on things that are very tough for them (in fact, frankly, they are in the wrong job).

# Ensure that everyone complies with these standards consistently and fairly and be flexible if they don’t work. It’s OK to be a bit tolerant, though only in the ‘how’ things are delivered as long as the outcome (the ‘what’) really happens.
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