Does your boss listen to you?

 A question posted on the MarketingProfs.com forum that I regularly contribute to asked about what to do with what sounded like a narcisistic boss. Here were my thoughts;

Unfortunately situations like this are not as uncommon as you might think. Sounds like your supervisor is either inexperienced or has been trained in the old management model of control and fear.

Short of leaving to find a better situation and assuming you are not alone in being dealt with this way here are some thoughts:

- find someone with longer tenure who works or has worked in the past for this supervisor. Did they find similar things happening? How did they deal with it?

- what are your supervisors expectations? Do you know in detail what your key performance indicators (what you are going to be judged on) are?

- if she is prone to passing the buck, hate to say it but make sure you cover your butt just in case things get ugly. After she has outlined what needs to be done and you have agreed what she needs to do to help you do that confirm it in an email with dates for completion etc.

- if she is being insulting then you need to call her on it. Tell her that you do not feel that is necessary and you do not appreicate it.

- start networking internally to find another position working for a leader not an unconscious incompetent.

Do you have some other ideas? Let me know in the comments.

Or raise your Google ranking and at to your online personal brand by checking out the full thread of the discussion at MarketingProfs.com by clicking HERE and adding your own "toonies worth"

Comments

[Dan Erwin]

Narcissistic execs can be difficult--no question there. However, as a consultant, on several occasions I've watched very astute direct reports manage their narcissist exec very well. The key, in every instance, was that they identified the execs' real objectives, both personally and businesswise. Then, whenever possible--and these direct reports were quite creative--they saw to it that their execs got what he/she was after. That also indebted the narcissist to his/her direct report. It was classic managing up.

At the same time, as you've mentioned, these same people kept working their colleagues and watching for stretch opportunities for themselves. Eventually, they either found a job elsewhere or became so valuable to their narcissistic exec, that they learned to manage him/her very well. Narcissists lose trust with their peers fairly quickly, and often the most senior person is the last one to know. As one peer of an N exec put it, "he (the narcissist) can play the CEO like a violin." But when "Ns" lose trust with their peers, they also lose the ability to gather needed resources and gain their own needed resources. Eventually they get found out, and let go. Of course, in the meanwhile employees are the brunt of pain, some are let go for no reason, and others are promoted for no obvious reason--other than for sucking up.

If the narcissist is the CEO, that's another issue. Start looking for an exit sign. danerwin.com