Don't Kill the Bosses!

Preface

When it comes to thinking about difficult situations you face at work, interactions between you and your boss or between you and your direct reports probably rank amongst the most challenging. If you’re like most of us, any difficulty can seem like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street rolled up into one long movie that goes on and on without ending. We know about this because we’re in the business of helping people solve the work situations they find most troubling. Even bosses who complacently reason that the absence of smoke means “no fire” eventually discover what this apparent serenity has cost their company. And in almost every instance, their subordinates knew well in advance about the problem but felt at peril to send out ...