CAREERS NOW 03-14-07

Getting Away From A Boss You Can't Stand

DEAR JOYCE: I've got to get away from my boss. We're civil to each other but beneath the surface we're poles apart on everything from how work assignments are done to politics. I'd like to stay with this company if I can. I assume I should speak first to the HR manager about a transfer to another department. Agree? - J.G.

Yes. But present your need as working toward a goal, rather than escaping an incompatible boss. If you're not focused on a specific goal, informally ask co-workers about future job openings before they become common knowledge - and about the management style of their bosses.

After your meeting with the HR manager, the same day speak to your boss. Put the best face on a ragged situation, explaining that for the good of the department (read: for the good of the boss), you believe you would fit better in X department. Ask for your boss's support in obtaining a transfer.

By avoiding an inference that your boss is the culprit in your rocky relationship, your boss may be grateful for the opportunity to get rid of you. The rationale: a joint effort for the betterment of the organization, allowing your boss to feel good about doing the right thing.

But if you're forced to admit that you two are at odds, add that you do respect your boss for the fairness shown in running the department and you know that he or she will be fair with you now. Not many people want to think of themselves as unfair.

DEAR JOYCE: I'm a new manager of six professional reports. One of them is openly hostile to me (I think she wanted the job I got). Suggestions on how to handle the surly employee tomorrow? I realize that I need managerial training but the urgency is for a fast answer right now. No initials please. - A.B.C.

The "new-employee" technique is a classic treatment to handle troublemakers. Without reference to past sins, call the troublemaker into your office and review the job description as though it were the subordinate's first day at work.

Discuss your objectives and goals, get the subordinate's input and agreement and then ask her to put it in a memo for future review. This shot across the bow is fair warning that you mean business. If the hostility doesn't end, you gain a big piece of documentation to sustain a termination.

Two new books can be a big help to managers, and especially to new mangers. They are:

- "A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons" by Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., published by the American Management Association's AMACOM Books(amacombooks.org), $15.

I like this book's format that identifies multiple solutions for each problem and explores the likely outcome of each before revealing what actually happened in the end.

- "The Progressive Discipline Handbook: Smart Strategies for Coaching Employees" by human resources executive Margie Mader-Clark and Attorney Lisa Guerin, published by Nolo (Nolo.com), $34.99. A CD-ROM with templates, interviews and audio scenarios is included.

This authoritative book focuses not only on the best ways to confront employees about poor performance but the legal aspects as well.

DEAR JOYCE: For multiple reasons I can't leave my current job but I'm becoming brain dead from boredom. Ideas? - R.O.B.

You may be able to fix a broken job by seeking out new challenges and assignments on the job, obtaining new training or education off the job, learning how to do co-workers' jobs to fill in when needed and, introspectively, examining whether your problem really is the job.

A new book, "Stepping Up: 12 Ways to Rev Up, Revitalize, or Renew Your Career" by S. Gary Snodgrass (sgarysnodgrass.com), a 35-year human resources veteran, including a decade as the chief HR officer for a huge corporation, is published by Greenleaf Book Group Press, $13.95.

This book presents a synopsis of the next level of advice on what to do when your job and career need renewal. Its 87 pages make it an easy read for those who want to quickly get to the brass tacks of enthusiasm in the workplace.

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