Eventually, I had the opportunity to bail out, and I did.  I kept it quiet, and before he knew it I was out of there for good.  That was not part of his plan, but that was bad luck.  It was at that point that I realised that he needed me far more than I needed him.  He needed someone to shift blame onto.  Obviously it wasn’t as clear as that in his mind, but that was it.  

The years went by.  His managers eventually realised the true degree of the boss from hell’s incompetence, and he had to leave.  He tried to make a living out of consulting, and during the boom times in Perth, hardly got any work, even less over time.  He pretentiously named his one man business (his surname) Consulting Group.

His true value was on display in the market place.  He still relies on nepotism to get by, at some lowly level.  Every morning he must look in the mirror and be disappointed that he was never able to make it – that he never had the personal qualities that inspire others and lead them to success – that he is such a small person inside. Bosses from hell have very little to offer, and few skills outside of their ability to play organisational games.

Now I do contracting.  It is far better for me.  The multi-billion dollar companies that I work for generally don’t want the unproductive drones on their projects, so I have been free of bosses from hell for quite a while now.  I have been blessed in what I do, away from those who hold us back.

The key to not being under the power from the boss from hell is to be able to walk, and to know that the boss from hell knows that, and that they have no power.  That comes from having a skill that is worth something away from the boss, and not being too financially dependent on a job.  The boss from hell needs you more than you need him – realise that, and understand what his angle is.

Being able to stand up for your rights is important too.  That type of boss knows that they are wrong.  Any mention of legal action unnerves them.  Its good to keep them a little bit scared.  But I wouldn’t recommend a threat, just an understanding that you are well equipped and ready to go head to head with them.  It is like being Superman – you don’t have to go around showing the big S to everyone, do you?

I like to cultivate an understanding that it is not companies fighting each other – it is personal, and that the boss from hell will be paying on a very personal level.  If you are in that situation, remember to document everything.

The boss from hell has cultivated manipulative skills and cunning instead of competence.  Be aware of how he (or she) works.

I hope that if you have a boss from hell that you won’t endure it for years – they won’t go away because they are hanging on for dear life.  I hope that you will find it in yourself to go somewhere and work for someone decent who you can look up to, rather than wasting a part of your valuable, limited time on earth being held back by a loser.

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Tags: boss from hell

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Living free. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.