Blog: Four tips for handling a difficult boss

Comment on Poor Management Styles and the Negative Impact on oth

Bringing in a Life and Business Coach to work with a Manager who is finding it difficult to manage staff effectively can provide an ideal solution. Many high performing employees who are excellent at managing their own workload or working effectively within a team experience the following difficulties when they get promoted into management:

The promotion goes to their head and they start throwing their weight around to assert themselves. This behaviour can evolve to mask feelings of self-doubt, to gain respect, or to establish dominance.
Some managers feel threatened by high performers within their team. Instead of nurturing their talents and encouraging their success and development they fail to provide them with the training and scope they deserve or to acknowledge their contribution and achievements. This can result in the best talent seeking opportunities elsewhere when they become frustrated by lack of recognition and progress.
Learning the art of delegation and allowing others to take on responsibilities within the team according to their abilities and talents improves commitment and morale within a team and motivates many to aspire to be the best they can be to gain recognition and reward in terms of promotion, incentives or career progression.
Holding brain-storming sessions or meetings where the ideas of those you manage are considered and valued encourages staff to think about how to improve their effectiveness rather than just follow a tried and tested path. Good ideas can be implemented and praised to improve efficiency. If the team excels their manager gains credit.
Any personality clashes or grievances which arise due to an abrasive or demotivating management style or within team members should be addressed and resolved. Bringing in an outside mediator such as a Life and Business Coach to sit down with the individuals involved and dig deep to establish the reasons for the conflict or nature of the problem from all perspectives, is the key to resolving such issues. An effective Coach is able to establish the root of a problem and encourage those concerned to plan a way to identify and resolve the issues step-by-step then implement a planned course of action leading to a progressive improvement and sound outcome.

When a Life and Business Coach is retained by a company to resolve a problem with one/some of their employees – whether communication, conflict or stress-related, it is vital that firm parameters are set at the start with regard to confidentiality, feed-back, depth of reporting, the challenges and aims. These terms would be agreed by all parties concerned so that there is no unacceptable breach of confidence with the established outcome being the main goal.

Comments by Sharon Henry of New Leaf Life and Business Coaching.

One Response

Sharon Henry - New Leaf says:

May 3, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Comment on Poor Management Styles and the Negative Impact on oth

Bringing in a Life and Business Coach to work with a Manager who is finding it difficult to manage staff effectively can provide an ideal solution. Many high performing employees who are excellent at managing their own workload or working effectively within a team experience the following difficulties when they get promoted into management:
- The promotion goes to their head and they start throwing their weight around to assert themselves. This behaviour can evolve to mask feelings of self-doubt, to gain respect, or to establish dominance.
- Some managers feel threatened by high performers within their team. Instead of nurturing their talents and encouraging their success and development they fail to provide them with the training and scope they deserve or to acknowledge their contribution and achievements. This can result in the best talent seeking opportunities elsewhere when they become frustrated by lack of recognition and progress.
- Learning the art of delegation and allowing others to take on responsibilities within the team according to their abilities and talents improves commitment and morale within a team and motivates many to aspire to be the best they can be to gain recognition and reward in terms of promotion, incentives or career progression.
- Holding brain-storming sessions or meetings where the ideas of those you manage are considered and valued encourages staff to think about how to improve their effectiveness rather than just follow a tried and tested path. Good ideas can be implemented and praised to improve efficiency. If the team excels their manager gains credit.
- Any personality clashes or grievances which arise due to an abrasive or demotivating management style or within team members should be addressed and resolved. Bringing in an outside mediator such as a Life and Business Coach to sit down with the individuals involved and dig deep to establish the reasons for the conflict or nature of the problem from all perspectives, is the key to resolving such issues. An effective Coach is able to establish the root of a problem and encourage those concerned to plan a way to identify and resolve the issues step-by-step then implement a planned course of action leading to a progressive improvement and sound outcome.
When a Life and Business Coach is retained by a company to resolve a problem with one/some of their employees – whether communication, conflict or stress-related, it is vital that firm parameters are set at the start with regard to confidentiality, feed-back, depth of reporting, the challenges and aims. These terms would be agreed by all parties concerned so that there is no unacceptable breach of confidence with the established outcome being the main goal.

Comments by Sharon Henry of New Leaf Life and Business Coaching.