As per title, this one is extremely important! As an Secretary/ Personal Assistant i used to get this kinda question during interview and even how to face it on the field.
What are you going to do when you have a demanding boss ? Even worse, an overly demanding boss.
I'm trying to reach out and find the article and answer regarding this matter, and i found this article really interest me and i truly get it and thank God i found it LOL :D
Consider I'm going to have an secondary interview few days ahead.
As for you probably has the same query like I do, hopefully this would help ;)
All jobs are demanding at times, and it’s often the boss’s
responsibility to get her staff to rise to the occasion–but some bosses
go too far by putting excessive pressure on their employees.
“An overly demanding boss might require you to work beyond the
regular schedule even when the volume of work does not require it; he
might insist on extra reporting that never even gets read; order lots of
‘special projects’; or want to approve every decision you make,” says
Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based
career coach and resume writer.
Ryan Kahn, a career coach, founder of
The Hired Group, star of
MTV’s
Hired, and author of
Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad,
agrees. He says an overly demanding boss is someone who sets extremely
high standards and expectations on work deliverables or goals, which may
be unrealistic or unsustainable. “If you find your project list growing
and changing rapidly and performance targets increasing, you just may
have an overly demanding boss.”
An overly demanding boss doesn’t empathize or understand what’s
required for you to deliver results, and he will keep pushing you until
you take action, adds Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and
author of
Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant; How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.
“Demanding bosses give you unreasonable deadlines, are not in tune
with the hours it takes to meet objectives, won’t take the time to find
out in advance what’s reasonable, can display little interest in your
well-being, have trouble prioritizing, and give you little recognition
when you do complete Herculean tasks,” she says. “They may not take the
time to see if you have the tools or information you need to accomplish
your assignments, and can make themselves unapproachable so that your
only option seems to be:
just do it.”
Why might a boss act this way? A desire to control
everything; fear for his or her own job status; a yearning for
perfection; or a sense of entitlement, Taylor says. “Whatever the root
cause, these types of bosses are often like unruly toddlers who act as
if the world really
does revolve around them. Asking nicely
doesn’t always occur to these bosses, and so the onus is on you to break
your silence and be the voice of reason.”
An overly demanding boss can be extremely difficult to work with, and
his behavior might cause a spike in stress levels, and a decline in
morale and productivity.
“While a little bit of pressure can inspire workers to rise to the
challenge, people who work for overly demanding bosses usually feel
frustrated that their efforts are not rewarded, and as a result, they
are unlikely to continue to pump out high quality work,” Friedman says.
“A bad boss can also cause co-workers to turn against each other as they
try to appease management, and there’s a big difference between healthy
competition and infighting in the workplace.”
This type of exacting boss is likely to be an overbearing
micromanager. “Not only does this take a toll on workers’ morale and the
overall office environment, but it can actually have the opposite of
the intended effect: When employees are constantly being pressured to
perform at an unsustainable level or required to run every action
through a higher-up, productivity tends to drop off. It’s also common
to find that overly demanding bosses end up having high-turnover
workplaces, and when team members quit or are driven out, it puts even
more of a burden on the remaining staff, which leads to even more
employee burnout.”
Suzana Simic, manager of career services at
Computer Systems Institute,
adds: “Overly demanding bosses seem to regard their employees as
dispensable commodities, rather than assets. With that being said, it
can be extremely difficult to help solve a problem or prevent one from
occurring when an employee feels bogged down by their overly demanding
boss.” Employees of an overly demanding boss may also feel as though
nothing they accomplish is ever enough, she says. “When an overly
demanding boss comes into the room, the employees’ demeanor changes to
one filled with stress and apprehension. Employees become weighed down
with ‘pleasing’ the overly demanding boss, and they may create errors
based on trying to be perfect.”
Another possible outcome: You may be more upset with yourself than
you are with your boss because you’re caught between the conflict of
wanting to perform and avoid appearing incompetent – and upsetting your
boss by speaking up, Taylor says. “It’s bothersome because you feel you
can’t ignite confrontation and ask for reasonable expectations. You may
fear retaliation, passive-aggressive fallout, loss of job status or
exciting projects, or even being terminated, which is a conundrum, until
you muster the ability to face the problem head-on.”
Eventually the inner conflict you have with an overly demanding boss
can consume you; it detracts from you doing your best work. “You end up
with the double whammy of an intense workload, combined with a
behavioral clash, sinking your productivity. Overbearing, insensitive
bosses are counterproductive to the very goal they seek: more output
from you.”
Kahn says though overly demanding bosses may be impatient, overly
direct, and even intimidating; are not likely to accept excuses on
missing deadlines or goals; and may even have a high churn rate through
their staff as they search for individuals who can meet their high
expectations — working for an overly demanding boss is not
always
a bad thing. “In many cases, these are high-performing individuals who
are moving quickly up the corporate ladder. They set high expectations
for their team since they have high expectations for themselves. While
working with an overly demanding boss may be challenging, it also has
the potential to be an incredible learning experience. The key to
success is learning to how to manage up with this personality type.”
Taylor says if you
don’t learn how to manage up with a
demanding boss, you will suffer the consequences of never feeling that
your work is satisfactory. “The quality and quantity of your
deliverables will decline, and so will your self-esteem,” she says. “You
must learn how to bravely and clearly communicate the details of your
assignments so that your boss is more aware. You cannot assume that your
boss understands the hours associated with assignments. These bosses
must be made aware of the importance of priorities and your human
limits. Most importantly, you must take the initiative in creating
mutually agreeable expectations.”
Forbes Staff
