The horrible boss - and how to manage him (most often a “him”)

Most ambitious people out there want to lead other people. They want to be the head of a team. A team working for them.

You know…

…calling the shots.

…being listened to.

…coming up with the big ideas.

Be the head of the pack!

That’s rarely how it works. And most people suck at leading.

Why?

Here’s part of it:

Most people get to leading positions by being good at the craft. Not for being good leaders.

Let’s try an example.

Meet Chris.

Chris is a 10/10 computer designer. He loves designing computers and spends all his time thinking about it. Chris climbs the company ranks when people notice how good he is at designing computers. Before he knows it he’s head of the whole computer design team.

(True story: his father lost 4 friends who can’t stand another comment about how great Chris is at designing computers.)

And here comes the issue.

As Chris gets higher up in the organization chart, he gets further away from designing computers.

Now he spends his time clearing receipts, accepting invoices, having feedback conversations with team members, rejecting one team member’s 2 week vacation request for a trip to Italy in October. And so on.

All the boring stuff makes him cling on to whatever design tasks he’s still part of. And he micromanages his team in every detail.

Chris thinks: “If they were only were half as good as me, I would leave them alone”

I think a lot of people recognize Chris (or some version of him).

So what to do when working for the Chrises out there?

Good question…

To begin with, you need to remember where Chris comes from. Chris thinks he’s very (very!) good at computer design and he loves his own ideas.

It was his ideas that took him to the top!

So…

First: embrace Chris’ ideas. Try to understand them and learn from them. Use them in your own work.

He’ll notice it. He’ll like it.

Second: get closer to him.

People around him will get tired of him and try to avoid him. Do the opposite.

It’ll (probably) be painful for a while. But you’ll come out on the other side with a friend and companion rather than an enemy.

If you play your cards right, you’ll earn Chris’ trust and he’ll start to like you. When he trusts you and likes you, he’ll let you do your own thing. He’ll stop micromanaging you.

It works.

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