How To Work Your Bad Boss

How To Work Your Bad Boss
NOTE: This is a book excerpt with minor edits from Got A Bad Boss? Work That Boss To Get What You Want At Work by Dr. Noelle Nelson. According to dictionary.com, “to work” something or someone is to put them into effective operation, to operate that thing or person for productive purposes. That is precisely what I mean by “work your boss.” I don’t mean transform your Bad Boss into a better boss. I literally mean: put your Bad Boss into effective operation to get you whatever it is that you want in your job or career. How? By learning your boss’s secret desire and secret fear.

Know Your Bad Boss’s Secret Desire And Secret Fear

Every boss has a secret desire - something he or she really wants but won’t reveal, because underneath that secret desire is a secret fear or insecurity that your Bad Boss can’t admit or doesn’t even understand. Your boss’s blind spot is your opportunity. When you satisfy your Bad Boss’s innermost needs, you become important to your boss. Now, you have the power to get what you want. That’s working your Bad Boss.

Face It: Your Bad Boss Doesn’t Care About You

The truth is, most bosses are so worried about their own job security that they’re not spending a lot of time fretting about you or your career goals. And Bad Bosses really don’t care about you. Bad Bosses only care about themselves. That’s why “managing up” is completely ineffective with a Bad Boss. You have a better chance of convincing people to ditch their cellphones than you do of getting a Bad Boss to have a meaningful chat about how to work more productively together. However, working your Bad Boss by learning the secrets to his or her behavior, and putting that knowledge to use for the productive purpose of getting what you want is absolutely doable.

What's Holding You Back At Work?

You have no doubt noticed that there are people out there who aren’t as talented or smart as you are, but they’re getting what they want. They've already figured out how to work their Boss. They have what you don’t have, style. They have the know-how to work their Boss’s secret fears and desires. That’s how they get what they want. They’re getting that raise, that promotion, that whatever you want too but somehow is always just out of your grasp. Don't despair. When you understand why people behave the way they do, you are in a much better position to get what you want, even from a Bad Boss. You hold the power. Once you know what motivates your Boss - not the obvious things like money, status, ego - but what lies underneath, all the secret fears and desires that make your Boss tick, you can use that knowledge to help you own your job instead of the job owning you.

Watch This Webinar!

Join us for this special presentation on dealing with bad bosses and getting what you want. Presenter: Dr. Noelle Nelson, author of Got A Bad Boss? Work That Boss To Get What You Want At Work.   WATCH NOW ►   Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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