151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People

64Remove Abusive Managers

Executives with a vision have clear objectives. They also have clear ideas about what kind of managers they want to carry out those objectives.

Assignment

Hold “Coffee with the Boss” sessions from time to time to ask employees about their concerns.

Soon after a manager took over a department at a large communications company, she interviewed all the employees to determine their concerns. The name of a difficult supervisor surfaced again and again. The woman was known for sabotage. When angry, she frequently walked out and left her work for others to do. She forced people to attend meetings on her behalf without briefing them. She constantly blamed others for her mistakes.

Shortly after all the interviews, the department ...