How to deal with silly bosses?

Some thirty years ago, I had a very silly boss. He was not only incompetent, but he wore loud ties and an absurd pair of suspenders! I was willing to overlook the suspenders, but the ties got me! To my credit, I did not revolt easily.

I took him out for lunch taking care not to charge it to my expense account. I tried to understand from him what he wanted achieved and where I could fit into his plans. It was a wasted lunch. I concluded that this inept amateur was going to be a problem for me and for my aspirations.

I went to Plan B. I worked through my network and leveraged the informal labour market within my company. I got myself a decent job in the Middle East and I left Indian shores. After I had accepted my position in the Middle East, I called on my boss' boss (the Country Manager). He was very cold. I was surprised. I assumed that he was in the know about my unhappiness and should have been relieved that an impertinent pushy young fellow was leaving and hence removing one of his sources of headaches. I left carrying in my mind an unresolved puzzle.

Lo and behold, in six months my silly boss had been sacked. On a visit to India, I tackled the Country Manager. "If only you had told me that you were going to sack him so soon, I would never have left" I complained .His response was sardonic. "Aha....but I did hint to you. You were in a tearing hurry. You fixed up a job without telling me. You came to me afterwards.

Even then I tried to tell you that you may not be doing the smart thing. You did not pay attention to the nuances in my conversation." That hasty action set back my career quite a bit. I got lost in the Middle East where there was plenty of money, but not the kind of professional breakthroughs which I could have had in India. The moral of the story for young executives runs like this. "Silly bosses are an inescapable reality. Somewhere in your career you are bound to get stuck with one.

The trick is not to get impatient. One should hang in there and outlast the infernal boss, not run away, if for no other reason than the fact that in the new place one may get stuck once again with a silly boss. Remember you are not the only person aware of his or her silliness. It is likely that the rest of the organization including his seniors share the perception.

One should discreetly (and discretion is mighty important) feel out his or her seniors. They are likely to be sensitive to the fact that day in and day out you have to put up with an inane and banal individual as your leader and if anything they will be sympathetic and hence reward you disproportionately sooner rather than later."

(Views expressed are personal. Next Monday, Mr Jerry Rao, head, EDS Global Financial Services, will takeover from Mr Maira to share his experiences and insights on issues executives face at work.

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