What You Can Learn From a Bad Boss

What You Can Learn From a Bad BossWhat You Can Learn From a Bad BossMany professionals have had the experience of working for a babo who falls short of the gold standard. According to the book Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton, research from Gallup polls has found that 75 percent of employees cite their supervisor as the number one cause of their workplace stress. The same Gallup polls (which surveyed over 100,000 respondents) found that an employees immediate boss has much mora of an influence on their performance than the company they work for. The Effects of Bad Bosses With a boss playing such a pivotal role in the workplace, it is easy to see how schwimmbad bosses can have extremely negative impacts within their organization, causing high rates of employee turnover and forcing some workers to take a leave from work due to stress. Believe it or not, there is something to be gained from the experience of working for a bad boss it may seem counterintuitive, but working under a bad boss can actually have a positive effect by sharpening your own management skills and preparing you to take on a managerial role in the future. Learn What Not to Do A bad boss provides an object lesson on how not to handle situations while working in a managerial role. You could be a boss yourself one day, and you will hopefully remember not to model your behavior after the bad boss to which you have been subjected. The time you spend in the service of such a manager gives you a front row seat to observe their lack of leadership and poor decision-making skills. Take these lessons to heart and be a better boss when your turn comes around. Even if you never become a manager, you can learn a great deal about relationships and how to handle stressful situations. Self-Motivation Helps A bad boss isnt going to take the time to provide help or direction, and they certainly wont bother to be generous in giving praise and encouragement to the workers they are tasked with superv ising. This can actually help you to develop your self-motivation, fostering a sense of accountability to yourself for your successes and failures. You wont be looking to outside sources for validation. Document your own successes and contributions, and review your list to remind yourself of the good work that you are doing. Sharper Communication Skills Difficult managers force you to be clear, concise, and willing to negotiate. They often lack patience, so you have to be able to make your point quickly. You must also learn how to read your managers body language, which can be a great nonverbal indicator of how they are reacting to your ideas. Interpersonal and Conflict-Resolution Skills Some bad bosses are primed to explode at even the smallest sign of a problem, so it is important that you learn when to pick your battles and when to let the little things go. Learn to focus on the big picture goals and how to minimize conflict within your organization. Compromising and keep ing cool under pressure are critical skills that you must acquire. Building a Team of Your Own It is important to remember that there are other employees going through the same situation, and you have the opportunity to support each other in the face of this challenge. A bad boss can actually motivate members of a team to bond with each other and provide encouragement and assistance since they know that they wont be receiving positive attention from their superior. The Bottom Line While having a bad boss isnt the ideal situation, you can make the most of it if you are not ready to quit and move on to another organization. Take what you can from the experience, make a note of things that are not working for the bad boss, and use the experience to improve your own management skills.

How to Deal With Negative Co-Workers at a Great Job - The Muse

How to Deal With Negative Co-Workers at a Great Job - The MuseHow to Deal With Negative Co-Workers at a Great Job Hi Kyle,Ive been in a full-time job for six months, and so far, Im loving it but am concerned about some increasing negativity in the office lately- tardiness, inappropriate language, lack of focus. It seems like its mostly stemming from the new people who just came on board.Ive spoken to some senior colleagues of mine about how I feel and they told me that I shouldstay out of the problem(s), do my job well, and everything will be fine. Yet Im stillfeeling anxious and worried. Im not sure whether I should sit down with my managers because if I do, I may just be burdening them. Again, I love where I am and what Im doing, but I cant help being bothered by the bad apples. Can you give me anyadvice to make me feel better about myself and my work despite this workplace negativity? Signed, Unsure and LostDear Unsure and Lost, Your question strikes a nerve with me because back i n my days as a recruiter I absprachet with this issue a lot. Getting lost in other peoples cynicism is a surefire way to end up hating your job. You can learn to deal with negative people though, ensuring that your job satisfaction remains firmly in place.Spread PositivityWhen facing a co-worker who wants to complain, gossip, or play the victim, make a genuine attempt to turn their attitude around. Depending on how the negativitys surfacing, you may have to employ different tactics. Exuding good, happy vibes in the face of a complainer will probably result in a decreased effort on their part to moan and groan. Maybe you can even get them to see something in a new light simply by pointing out a perk or a great thing about your workplace. Bottom line If they dont view you as someone whos willing to commiserate with them, theyre probably going to take their sour attitudes elsewhere, and youll be free to work in peace. Say SomethingBut lets say theyre not getting the hint, and the one-s ided venting continues much to your dismay. Or theyve stopped heaping their discontent on you, but you cant help noticing when their desks sit empty long after the acceptable arrival window, and you can still hear them cursing their work, boss, or clients. As the company veteran, consider it your responsibility to help the new guys get acquainted with whats acceptable and whats not. Maybe theyre used to an office environment where work was somewhat optional or where constant complaining was de rigueur. Take it upon yourself to let them know that wont fly here.Ive had enough jobs to know that theres always going to be something that stinks. What Ive found here is that focusing on the positive and making sure I know why Im doing what Im doing is way better than fixating on the stuff we cant fix. Its been working for me, so it could work for you too. Take it to the TopManagers- the good ones, anyway- are there to help solve people-problems. When a culture of respect and hard work is be ing eroded by inappropriate behavior it is most certainly on leadership. Muse writer Alexandra Frazen put together an excellent script for talking to your manager about a problematic co-worker. If you havent tried approaching your boss in this calm and collected manner, I urge you to do so. If youre a valued employee (and it sounds like you are), its in their best interest to take your concerns seriously.At the end of the day, you have something that some people never find in their careers work you love. If you lose sight of this, try making a list of everything that you like about your work and keep it on your computers desktop. The next time Claire makes a snarky remark about the latest product launch, check out your list and block out the pessimism. While we can choose our jobs to some extent, we can rarely choose who we work with, so being prepared to handle different types of negativity will be instrumental in your success. There will always be naysayers, but its up to you how deeply you let it affect you, and its your decision how you respond to it.This article is part of our Ask an Expert series- a column dedicated to helping you tackle your biggest career concerns. Our experts are excited to answer all of your burning questions, and you can submit one by emailing us at editor(at)themuse(dot)com and using Ask a Credible Career Coach in the subject line.Your letter may be published in an article on The Muse. All letters to Ask an Expert become the property of Daily Muse, Inc and will be edited for length, clarity, and grammatical correctness.

Deadline for Poster Proposals for 2014 Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Forum is Nov. 15

Deadline for Poster Proposals for 2014 Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Forum is Nov. 15 Deadline for Poster Proposals for 2014 Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Forum is Nov. 15 Deadline for Poster Proposals for 2014 Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Forum is Nov. 15The program committee of ASMEs Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Capturing Unconventional Opportunities Forum is currently accepting proposals for posters to be presented at this new, groundbreaking conference, which is being held as part of the ASME Energy Forum multimedia series, which was introduced earlier this year. The live Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing conference will be held March 17-19, 2014 in San Diego, Calif.The United States is playing a lead role in the burgeoning area of shale development and hydraulic fracturing in terms of technological advances, regulations, and the management of water sources and environmental impacts. As a reputable convener of knowled ge and expertise, ASME is uniquely positioned to bring together providers and experts of hardware, equipment and function systems for both surface and subsurface facilities.The live conference in March will be the second ASME Energy Forum event devoted to the subject of shale development and hydraulic fracturing, following an ASME.org webinar on the topic that will be held in December of this year.The three-day forum, to be held at the San Diego Convention Center, will highlight the challenges and solutions associated with shale exploration, development, and production. This unique event will provide a platform for sharing technologies, applications, and solutions required to compete in the weltumspannend shale development marketplace. Participants will gain exclusive access to potential customers, suppliers, entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators leading to increased commercial opportunities for all.The forums program committee invites you to participate in this unique opportunit y, which will focus on the best available technologies that run the gamut from the supplier side to the producer/developer. Technologies for exploration, subsurface, and drilling, completion and fracturing will also be included in the conference program.The deadline for submitting a poster abstract is Nov. 15. For further details, visit www.asme.org/events/asme-energy-forum/energy-forum-live-oil-gas, or contact Christine Reilley, ASME Emerging Technologies, by e-mail at reilleycasme.org.