Use this simple trick to take control of your bad boss

Use this simple trick to take control of your bad anfhrerUse this simple trick to take control of your bad bossAll day, you have to take feedback (criticism) and pivot (totally re-do your project) without any real idea why, and with no way to give feedback to your boss right back.A new study by leadership training company VitalSmarts showed what we already knew discussions on performance at work can be a one-way street. They asked employees about their bosses biggest weaknesses the ones they gossiped about with each other, but didnt, of course, tell their manager. They fell into the following categoriesMy boss is overwhelmed and inadequate (27%)The poor listener (24%)The biased and unfair boss (24%)The distant and disconnected boss (23%)The disorganized and forgetful boss (21%)Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAnd why dont employees speak up to their bosses? Well, isnt it obvious ?Because it would offend their manager (47%)Because it would cause their boss to retaliate (41%)They are unsure asto how to bring it up (41%)Because it would hurt their career (39%)The workplace doesnt doesnt support people who speak up (38%)Employees also scored complaints about their bosses that they wrote in for the study, some as terse as ineffective report writing to unprintable obscene acts. Here are a few of the stories they told, from the banning of the ja genau they to 7 a.m. meetingsThere was a merger several years ago. No one is allowed to use the word they. Its rarely intended as a negative slam but in language one sometimes is describing they based upon different locations. People warn each other about this but also roll their eyes in frustration.We have unterstellung weekly team meetings with no agenda and no notes.The boss scheduled 700 am meetings in response to a request to share more information about what we do with each other and also to discuss the results of ou r Workplace of Choice survey, LOL.As humorous as these stories are, Joseph Grenny, VitalSmarts co-founder and publisher of several books including the New York Times bestselling Crucial Accountability, says that even though employees can feel like powerless bystanders at work, its their job as to speak up.ur needs and our expectations are always our responsibility, independent of whatever power differential there might be, says Grenny. If I have needs, or if I have expectations, then in any type of healthy social situation, its my job to express those. I think too many of us are weaned on the idea that in an organization its our job to sit there, inert, until the boss signals that its safe to express negative opinions or to offer criticism.Take control of your bossOne trick for giving potentially speaking up while giving potentially uncomfortable feedback to your boss that Grenny suggests is giving her a reason to listen, then asking permission to give feedback.You could say, Hey, t here are some things going on between you and me that are making it difficult to get my work done, and I really want to perform in a way youre going to be pleased with. But there are these barriers, and its a little sensitive to bring up but may I do so?So Ive given her a reason to listen, says Grenny. In spite of the fact that this might hurt a little for my boss to hear, perhaps shes motivated more not just by protecting her fragile ego, but by achieving more, producing more, by having a successful team. So shes probably going to give me that permission.So I give her a reason to listen, and I ask permission.Theres something profound about asking permission to give feedback, Grenny says. It gives the person receiving it a sense of control.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe w orst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people