Every job is demanding at times, and it is always the boss’s duty to get his/her staff to rise to the occasion. However, some bosses go too far by applying unnecessary pressure on their workers. This could cause the employees to become stressed, reducing their impact on a particular job. Here are a handful of ways to cope with an over-demanding boss:
Do not take it personally
A demanding boss focuses on providing results to his/her boss, but not in a way that you might feel the work isn’t enough. Understand that an over-demanding boss might also have their over-demanding boss pressuring them to get the job done, so don’t take things personally.
Think about why your boss is over-demanding
Could it be a personality problem, or is there pressure from a higher individual to meet actual objectives? This can help you determine how you handle the situation. If your boss is also struggling to meet a goal or altering many deadlines, ensure you are sensitive to that during your conversation with your over-demanding boss. Give high-level updates on what your boss needs to be aware of and avoid unnecessary discussion unless they initiate it.
Don’t be a punching bag
Do not always be a maytr or take responsibility for things you can’t handle. Having the necessary skills set and understanding the company’s policy will earn you some respect in the sight of your boss, and this might aid you in fostering a better understanding. If you are executing your job well, it’s costly and time-consuming to replace you. Remember this as you try to build a better relationship with your boss.
Gently approach your over-demanding boss
Confront your over-demanding boss in a calm, professional, reasonable manner. Do not get entangled in the hysteria and endeavor to maintain a sense of humor to simmer any occurring tension. A little play can go a long way in disarming an over-demanding boss. Also, a lot of your accomplishments rely on the delivery and timing of your conversation.
Pay attention and repeat
Ensure you’re constantly giving attention to your boss because ideas and directions might come rapidly. If you are skeptical about anything, ask a question to clarify the situation. At the end of your discussions, repeat the job you’re required to deliver to ensure you are on the same page with your boss. You will never know when your boss is listening to you while giving an account of your duties. He may acknowledge how outrageous his expectations are.
Set mutual expectations and priorities
When your manager assigns a task to you, make sure you know where it stands on the priority list. Kindly give an estimate of how much time it will take and the things you require to finish the assignment. Give an assessment of how a new job affects your previous task and the consequences of other missed deadlines.
Remain optimistic
Your sense of commitment to providing the best results will be acknowledged, and may also help guide your boss in a better direction.
Solve problems rather than making one
If you aren’t going to meet up with certain deadlines, signify before time. Ensure you come prepared to provide your boss with possible solutions to show that you have a similar sense of necessity as they do about projects. If you experience difficulties in finalizing a project, draw the attention of your boss towards it with viable solutions. They might not be the proper solution, but this kind of boss will respect your effort to solve the problem.
Make use of an encouraging reinforcement
Give your boss an applaud when you detect the attitude you seek, such as planning concurrently and guaranteeing that your objectives and deadlines are aligned and reasonable. You could tell your manager something like, “I appreciated that you understood that we would have to push back the XYZ project by a few days to tackle this new initiative.”
Celebrate successes
Ensure to flag your accomplishments for your boss. Since they’re so focused on attaining goals, they might inadvertently forget a few of your successes. They may appreciate you flagging these since your success is also their success. This can do this by developing regular status reports. Your manager will understand your behind-the-scenes effort if you state it out in regular e-mails.
This will reveal to your boss how effective you are and what it takes to accomplish each task. However, do not risk looking like you are in over your head as you will appear antagonistic and passive-aggressive. Be detailed and concise so your boss can concentrate and prioritize.
Few bosses have been taught that being over-demanding is the only means of obtaining results from primary jobs or the recent one. It may be a management culture, and that doesn’t suggest that you imitate the same technique with your team. Rather, be the kind of person you want your boss to be by merely defining workflow and priorities. By doing this, You will do yourself, your manager, and your colleagues a tremendous favour.
