Book Byte #127 "Managing Up" by Mary Abbajay
How to Move up, win at work and succeed with any type of Boss
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author
“Appreciate the opportunity, embrace the challenge Yes, you heard me. Embrace and appreciate. Why? Because you will learn and grow more from a difficult boss than you ever will from a great or easy boss. A difficult boss will challenge you in more ways than you can imagine.”
“When we come from a place of judgment, we become stuck in our own worldview. When we come from a place of curiosity we expand our range of possibility.”
“Request, don't complain. Inside every complaint is a request. Find it and make it.”
“Research shows that it takes up to 22 months to emotionally and psychologically recover from the trauma of a psycho, crazy, bully, tyrannical, screaming, egomaniac boss.”
“If, however, you want to succeed in one of these industries, climb the corporate ladder, or accelerate your career, then chances are you are going to having to outwork, outperform, and outlast your peers in both the reality and perception of productively, results, and commitment.”
“When in conflict with an Advancer, be prepared with your facts and ideas. Focus on resolving the issue as opposed to “winning” the argument. It's a subtle but important difference.”
“Being authentic does not mean you have to follow your every impulse or express every thought. It's about being in full choice about your actions.”
“You will learn strategies to navigate other difficult people in your life, including coworkers, neighbors, friends, relatives, and yes, even significant others. But the most important thing you will learn is what kind of leader you want to be when it is your turn. Nearly everyone interviewed for this book said their best leadership teacher was their worst boss.”
“Once we label a whole person as difficult, we lose our ability to make strategic choices about the actual behavior that is a problem.”
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
Managing your connection with your employer is critical to your professional success, so it's worth spending the time to study her and learn what makes her tick. Knowing how she like to be spoken with and what her management blind spots are can help you not only establish bridges with the person you must work for every day, but also survive and thrive in the long run. When working under a narcissist, you cannot trust anyone.
If you work for a narcissist boss, it may be tempting to complain about them to your coworkers behind their backs. Unfortunately, this is a risky maneuver. Narcissistic CEOs are neurotic and frequently reward sycophantic followers who show them loyalty. Thus, in an attempt to curry favor, the coworker you complained to may possibly report back to your employer on everything you've said about him. Before you realize it, you've created a terrible opponent. It's safer to keep your genuine feelings to yourself!
🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry
“Everyone said in this survey that their best leadership teacher was their worst boss”
Being part of a Bad Boss Experience helps you in so many ways that it’s hard to contemplate the amount of value you actually get out of the situation while you’re currently in the situation.
It let’s you know what not to do when you become a Boss. It heps you to know how to avoid bad bosses in the future. It helps you to know how to what to do in case you are ever presented with a situation where you know you’re not progressing in a company and there is no way out but to just quit.
Look at Bad Bosses as a way for you to better understand your career’s trajectory and be thankful for it. Otherwise you might spend years somewhere you never wanted to be.
🤝Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:
What was the #1 lesson you learned from you worst boss?
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