A Survival Guide for Working With Bad Bosses: Dealing With Bullies,…

Reading A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses: Dealing with Bullies, Idiots, Back-Stabbers, and Other Managers From Hell is yet another book in a "set" that I checked out from our local library which I am currently reading my way through (and actually my third by this author). My housemate was recently promoted to a general manager position at a national pizza chain and was supposed to receive on the job training...but typically, has received none. So, we thought it might be helpful to do some reading on the subject of leadership, management and supervision of employees. This book kind of comes at my goal from the back end…being more about what makes an individual a “bad boss.” I feel that it is, generally speaking, a good idea to look at things from multiple perspectives, and this book does just that. Overall I would say A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses covers the basics of what makes a boss “bad” and lays out some “real life” circumstances that give the reader a solid foundation on which to begin work on improving relations with any number of bad boss archetypes. That said, Graham Scott’s book would probably be useless to anyone who had had adequate management experience (and/or had been in the work force for more than a couple of years) or for those who have already done extensive reading in this area. It’s a great beginner book, and I would recommend it without reservation to young people just starting out in the work force or for first time managers to get an idea of what some common problems employees feel create a “bad” manager.

A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses is divided into six sections and five of the six deal with various types over-arching character types (i.e. Not Fit for Command; That’s Unfair; Power Players; etc) and each of these sections is further divided into a number of sub-types. The sixth section is a review of the information as well as being geared toward putting all the info together in an easily accessible format for later reference. Each of section begins with an introductory paragraph, an example (sometimes more than one), a short set of ideas for alternative solutions or perspectives on the problem at hand, a brief discussion of how the employee dealt with (or might have dealt with the situation) and then some “take-always” for the reader to consider. The author stresses moderation in approach and response to any type of “bad” manager. Additionally, she urges that one take into consideration all possible causes and solutions before any action should be taken. I think this is a great resource, though it might have been nice for the author to acknowledge that her moderate and positive approach to these issues and problems does not always work...and she offers no progression or escalation of steps beyond the very basics...so if you have one of the problems she's describing and the solution given doesn't work, the author really hasn't helped delineate what the progression from there might or should be.

The writing here is simple, concise and accessible and the author makes her point very well (with the exception of escalation of problems beyond the scope given). We both enjoyed reading this and feel it's best used by those new to the job market as well as for those new to management who are not receiving mentoring or adequate on the job training as they are starting out. Long-time employees and managers or those well read in this area might enjoy it as a reminder or refresher for the basics of management but won't find much else to inspire or learn in these pages. Ultimately I give A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses 3 stars...a good place to start, but don't stop here! ( )

Just as managers must deal with problem employees, so too, must employees deal with problem managers. Suffice it to say I wish I had this book a few years ago. Discussions involve the various types of bad boss and how to handle each (or at least reduce the therapy bills). ( )