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In a perfect world, everyone would be glad to have a skilled member on their professional team. Sadly, many people care more about getting credit and looking good than doing great work. This can be a particularly challenging situation when you find yourself being the target of your boss’s narcissistic tendencies. Still, there are a few things that you can do to maintain your composure and professionalism. Here are How to Deal With a Boss Who Is Intimidated by You.
1. Maintain Confidence in Yourself and Your Professional Abilities
Your boss may be playing mind games in the hopes of causing self-doubt. They might do this by challenging your ideas in front of other team members or withholding support and encouragement altogether. Let the numbers and results of your work speak for themselves. If anything, a little self-doubt may help keep you on your toes and fuel your diligence.
2. Take the High Road
Your boss may try to provoke you by testing your limits. Perhaps they are trying to cause a workplace conflict, and they are confident they have better odds of winning. Nothing good will come from a direct confrontation. They will deny everything and try to gaslight you once again. Dot your i’s, cross your t’s, and keep a paper trail.
3. Remain Polite and Professional
Being aggressive will do you no good. On the contrary, the distribution of power and authority will probably make the situation even worse for you. So, do your best to do your work punctually and bide your time, at least for now.
4. Do Things by the Book
Do your best to follow best practices in your day-to-day work. This should give your jealous boss fewer opportunities to criticize you. At the same time, don’t go above and beyond to please your boss. You can practice more of a laid-back approach to reduce your work-related stress.
5. Don’t Give Them Your Ideas
Stop sharing your brilliant ideas with a boss who doesn’t appreciate them. They are only using you and taking credit for wins that should be helping your career. Complete your objectives as they’re given rather than seeking ways to go above and beyond.
6. Use Communication to Your Advantage
Use the shared digital channels to communicate your ideas about work. This way, your colleagues and other middle and upper management staff members will know the value of your contributions. This will also limit the likelihood of negative comments or feedback from your boss. But if you do receive negative remarks, you’ll have a record of them.
7. Shine in Team Meetings
Navigating work with a difficult boss isn’t about shying away from contributing. It’s about being strategic with how you offer your input and insights. Meetings are a great platform to let your voice be heard and demonstrate your dedication to the success of the team and project. The reasonable people in the room would want to hear you out and give you the opportunity to speak. Even if your boss is there, they won’t be able to shut you down entirely without drawing attention to their bias and lack of professionalism.
8. Find Support
Consider the other professionals that you work with. The people that parallel your position. Building connections can help you feel more supported through stressful periods at work and help keep you grounded. Sometimes, we may be taking things too personally, and other times, we really are dealing with an unprofessional supervisor. These contacts can help us maintain perspective and take the appropriate actions.
9. Involve HR
As a last resort, you can speak to HR about your boss. Make sure to bring forth any evidence you might have acquired with time, such as emails and DMs. Doing this with one or several team members who have noticed your boss’s unethical behavior would be best. However, approaching HR in situations like this can also be risky for your position and reputation.
10. Unwind After Work
Dealing with a jealous and manipulative boss at work can be pretty stressful. You might find yourself overwhelmed and dwelling on situations from the workday long after the office has closed. That is why it is vital to have a system for unwinding and leaving your worries at the office so you can make the most of your time to recharge.
11. Find Work Elsewhere
If all else fails, you might want to start quietly looking for other job opportunities. Keep your professional social networks up to date and a list of your recent accomplishments handy so it will be easy to update your resume as needed. Maintaining a semi-frequent relationship with a few recruiters may also be a good idea to help ease transitional periods like this.
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