If it hasn’t happened to you already, it will soon. Eventually you are going to work for someone who is immoral, incompetent, or just mean—maybe all three!

The good news is that you often learn more from a bad boss than a good one. But only if you are open and teachable.

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Here are five ways to cope—and maybe even thrive—when working for a bad boss.

Manage your expectations.

Evaluate the impact.

Consider your options.

Be assertive.

Support your boss publicly.

Listener Questions

Andy asked, “What do you do when someone you love works for a bad leader?”

Cheryl asked, “What role does HR play in dealing with a bad boss?”

Philip asked, “When, if ever is it appropriate to go to your bosses’ boss with a complaint about how your boss has handled an issue? I work in the medical field and I’m facing some issues now with my supervisor which potentially compromise patient safety. My feeling is that I have a responsibility to my patients take things up the chain as far as I need to go.”

Ashley asked, “How do you decide whether to stay and fight or leave and find another job?”

Tim asked, “What if you are working for someone who doesn’t want to grow or change? What if they are not open to new ideas?”

Special Announcement

People often write in to ask, “Can I pick your brain on something?” I finally decided to address this head-on. If you are interested in picking my brain on something, let me encourage you to go to MichaelHyatt.com/pickmybrain

If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, please leave me a voicemail:

This is a terrific way to cross-promote your blog or website, because, if I use your question on the show, I will link to it.

Episode Resources

In this episode I mentioned several resources, including:

Book: Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Page: Pick My Brain

Screencast: How to Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less

Show Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript of this episode here, courtesy of Ginger Schell, a professional transcriptionist, who handles all my transcription needs.

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