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Dealing with a bossy boss
What you need to know:
- Nasty. Excellence at work is all about teamwork but sometimes the boss is too bossy it affects production.
Some people are just bossy by nature while some are forced to be by the way an employee conducts him or herself but all these can be worked out if people work as a team and understand each other.
Working with someone you understand and appreciate is something every worker needs but it becomes hard when the person who is your head is bossy.
There are moments when an individual’s bossy nature gets to another level that an employee will fail to understand what exactly the boss needs them to do that is where the misunderstanding will crop up.
Annoying yells
Shamilah Wahab says her boss always yelled at the workers whenever there was a slight mistake made thus lowering their selfesteem.
“Her yelling was sometimes misplaced and it seemed like she wanted to embarrass you and show you that she had the power to decide your fate in the organisation,” says Wahab.
“To me, it would have been better if she called me in private and we talked about whatever shortcomings I had instead of shouting at me when everyone is hearing and later on smiling like nothing happened, which I looked at as hypocrisy,” she adds
Wahab says with time she grew to hate the boss and took all the instructions she gave the wrong way even if she meant well. She explains that her boss was some sort of perfectionist who wanted everything done the way she thought was right not minding about the other’s opinion which always put her off.
“Apart from being a perfectionist, she also had a good side which was projected only when you did her work the way she expected it to be or had a one-on-one talk with her. You would get to know that she is short-tempered and that why she yells when angry,” says Wahab.
Similarly, Benson Karuhanga says some bosses want to show that they have power so they end up frustrating those working under them which is not a good feeling for the victims.
Inferiority complex
He says there are bosses who have inferiority complex which compels them to rub their power in other people’s faces especially those they think may be better than them and could take up their position.
Karuhanga says when dealing with such people, you need to stay out of their way and do what you are supposed to do at your workplace in time so that there is no room for confrontation.
Karen Echelai, an administrator at Q&G Group, says sometimes it is an employee’s reluctance towards their work that makes the boss show their power and start ordering so that they can have their work done.
“You do not expect your boss to be happy with you if you are not doing work on time and the way it is supposed to be done. No one likes pulling ropes with the other,” says Echelai.
She says much as one’s bossy nature tends to demean the employee, one does not need to quit so fast because they do not know where they are heading and the bosses they will encounter in their next work places.
She advises employees to work hand in hand with their bosses, get to know each other, know what exactly their job description is, and live up to it if they are to avoid clashing with their bosses.
Employees should also avoid being overly unavailable whenever their bosses need them at work because it is supposed to be teamwork and failure to finish up your part may cause delay in the daily schedule which will compel the boss to show their power and influence.
Deo Okou, a human resource manager at Educate Uganda, says by the time an individual signs a contract to work with an organisation, they know the dos and don’ts of the jobs they are taking up so an employee should not wait for the boss to start following him or her up.
“If an individual is bossy, just make sure you do not give them room to show you their power. Do your work when you are expected to and do it to perfection not just to finish,” says Okou.
He says failure of an employee to get used to his or her boss’s nature may put them in a situation where the company has to choose either to put them on probation or let them go because this may create a big gap between the two individuals hence affecting their work. Okou further advises employees to play fools with such a kind of boss if they are to avoid clashing and having a bad report when it comes to the evaluation time.
Lastly, he says, employees should know their limits when associating with the boss and not let the boss’ friendly nature compel you to feel comfortable to disrespect them because it is from this that the boss will feel the need to show you your place.
