your manager's been on a tear lately, ignoring your e-mails and assigning impossible deadlines. don't take it personally: even well-paid top dogs feel insecure at work now and again and take their frustrations out on their underlings. lynn taylor, author of tame your terrible office tyrant (tot), decodes what your boss's barbs really mean and how best to deflect them.
she says: "i know it's late, but have it ready for me by tomorrow morning."
she means: yes, this is a ridiculous deadline that can only lead to mediocre results--but my superiors are on my case to get it done asap.
what you do: involve her in the process by asking, "given such a tight deadline, what would you do to make this a success?" soliciting her guidance makes it more difficult for her to blame you later if things go badly.
she says: "where have you been all afternoon?"
she means: i'm a little needy right now and want you by my side 24/7.
what you do: sell her on the upside of your absence: "i took our clients to lunch, and i think i convinced them to renew their contract with us!" next time, be sure to remind her the day before, the morning of, and an hour prior to heading out of the office, and leave a note explicitly saying when you'll be back.
she says: nothing—she hasn't responded to any of your e-mails in days.
she means: i'm incredibly busy. don't e-mail me unless it's urgent.
what you do: first, stop pinging her about minor matters. then, be direct with her about the best way to communicate. taylor suggests something like, "i know you're inundated. would it be easier for you if i asked your assistant to set up a meeting for us to review my questions and ideas?"
she says: "you haven't finished the report yet?!"
she means: i may be blowing this out of proportion, but i'm overwhelmed and, yes, i'm taking it out on you.
what you do: the simple truth is that your boss needs to vent periodically—and you're the unlucky sap standing in front of her when she blows. just be professional—no trembling lower lip, ladies! she'll probably pop by later to smooth things over. accept her peace offering and move on.
你的經(jīng)理最近沉湎于尋歡作樂，忽視了你的郵件，委派了一堆你不可能完成的工作。別把這些都當(dāng)成是你自己的事情：即使你是那個拿著高薪，深感不安，并且一次又一次地觸及他們失望底線的家伙。琳·泰勒，《馴服你辦公室可怕的暴君》一書作者，在書中(譯者加)泰勒就寫到如果撫平你老板的“刺”，就是說如何最好地扭轉(zhuǎn)他們的觀念(譯者加)。
她說：“我知道這已經(jīng)遲了，但是這必須從明天早晨就開始�！�
她的意思是：是的，這是一個可笑的最后期限，只能帶來普通不過的結(jié)果——但是，我的上司在同樣的境遇下，就得到了最快的回復(fù)。
你該怎么做：用提問直接把她帶入流程，“給我這么緊的最后期限，你想要怎樣的結(jié)果?”請求她的指導(dǎo)，把這件事弄得看起來更難一些，如果事情變得很糟，這將使她免于責(zé)備你。
她說：“你整個下午都做了什么?”
她的意思是：我現(xiàn)在要求緊了一點(diǎn)，是希望你七天二十四小時都在我掌控范圍內(nèi)。(意譯)
你該怎么做：說服她站在你的立場上：“我花了一下午的時間說服我們的客戶，我想讓他們確定簽下和我們的合同!”下次，記得在前一天就提醒她，早晨，你將離開辦公室外出，并留下一張便簽告訴她你會在什么時間段回來。
她說：“沒事——我并沒有回復(fù)你一天中的任何一封email�！�
她的意思是：我確實(shí)很忙，如果沒有急事不要給我發(fā)郵件。
你該怎么做：第一，別再用小事去麻煩她。然后，直接告訴她交流的最佳途徑，泰勒建議你可以這樣說：“我知道你已經(jīng)被麻煩填滿了，如果我讓你的助手為我們準(zhǔn)備一個會來重新闡述我的問題和觀點(diǎn)，事情會不會變得容易些呢?”
她說：“你竟然還沒有完成那份報(bào)告?”
她的意思是：我可能在這個時候爆發(fā)了，但是我已經(jīng)不知所措了，是的，我請你出去。
你該怎么做：顯而易見的事實(shí)是，你的老板需要找個借口發(fā)脾氣——而你很不幸成為了她發(fā)泄時站在她面前的那個人。變得職業(yè)點(diǎn)吧——“不要泄氣，女士!”她將很快消氣，重新回到正軌上來。而你要做的是(譯者加)，接受她心平氣和的感謝并且表示感激。