Page 23 - MyFaith Mag August 2016

Everybody’s got their insecurities. But some folks are ruled by theirs. When
your boss is one of them, his insecurities will rule your day … and your career
prospects. “Insecurity is one of the most common causes of managers behaving
oddly,” said Shaun Belding,

Handle with Care: Insecure Bosses Micromanaging: Bosses who are perfectionists, terrified of making a
mistake, or terrified of losing their jobs will meddle, clogging up work
Dealing with one is like playing catch with a knife. You never know when flow.
you’re going to get cut.
Indecisiveness: Some bosses shy away from making the tough deci-
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer sions — particularly when it comes to getting rid of poor performers.
That can drag down an otherwise strong team and garners the boss a
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Everybody’s got their insecurities. But reputation for being ineffective.
some folks are ruled by theirs. When your boss is one of them, his inse-
curities will rule your day … and your career prospects. “Insecurity is one Hide and seek: The insecure boss isn’t able to give a team a sense of
of the most common causes of managers behaving oddly,” said Shaun purpose, tends not to be very visible with employees or customers and
Belding, author of “Winning With the Boss From Hell.” “You’re never quite often hunkers down in his office.
sure what to expect from them.” Well, maybe there is one thing: They’ll
do anything to make themselves feel better, even if it’s at your expense. Inability to give direction: You do what the guy once said he wanted,
and now it turns out he wanted you to do something else. Worse, he
Your best-case scenario: you manage to become a trusted ally because wanted you to figure out that he wanted you to do something else and is
you learn to contort your actions and comments to soothe el jefe’s angry that you haven’t.
quivering sense of self.
Overcompensating: Insecurity can be disguised by bullying, arrogance
Your worst-case scenario: You’re perceived as a threat no matter what or power-mongering. Putting the pin back in the grenade since you can’t
you do and you get fired. That happened to one woman I know whose choose your bosses, chances are good you’ll end up working for a few
considerable marketing talents, popularity with colleagues and ability to during your career. The absolute worst way to deal with them is to take
communicate well with top management drove her direct manager up credit for your successes without acknowledging them, or make your
a tree. managers feel stupid in front of others by correcting them or question-
ing their decisions.
The manager would schedule meetings on days she knew her charge
wouldn’t be there, let her employee do what she did best but then take But if you want to make the best of the situation, Belding and Wellins
credit for her work, and eventually convinced new management to oust said, you might:
her, despite the fact that she over-delivered on her numbers and was a
top performer. “You felt the manager always wanted to throw you under * Recognize that when your boss is indulging his insecurities at your
the bus at every turn,” the fired woman said. expense — say, screaming at you — that it’s not necessarily about you.

A friend’s acquaintance had a similar experience. He had a boss at a * Acknowledge your manager’s contributions — everyone likes recogni-
start-up who used his football-player brawn to intimidate and book tion, especially insecure people.
knowledge to paper over his lack of real-world experience. The manager
reassigned him to three new markets to sell the company’s services * Let your boss know that you love your job and want to have a strong
despite the fact that the boss couldn’t explain why he thought those working relationship with her, and ask what you can do to make it better.
markets could be money-makers for the company. When asked, he told
his employee, “That’s an unfair question.” Then later he told him to figure * Suggest ways to do things that will make your manager look like a
out the potential for himself. “He was trying to make me unsuccessful hero. If your every move makes the boss look good, he just may become
and inherit my pipeline deals so he could get credit for making the sales,” insecure about losing you.
my friend’s acquaintance said. Even the nice ones can be nightmares

Of course, not all insecure bosses are so obvious or spiteful. But even
the nicest of them can kill productivity and morale and push good
employees out the door, said Rich Wellins, senior vice president of
human-resource consulting firm Development Dimensions International.
Driven by fear, envy or just serious self-doubt, a boss’s insecurities can
manifest as:

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