Seeking support is a means of gaining a different perspective on dealing with a difficult boss. I don't mean sitting around the break room complaining or gossiping. You
know who to talk with get sympathy. Who do you talk with to get solutions?
If you can't identify your role in the relationship dynamics with a difficult boss, ask for help. There are professional coaches, counselors, consultants, ministers, psychologists - a wide range of professionals who can objectively help you identify your role and work with you to develop new behaviors to help you cope with conflict in the workplace. Choose who attracts you the most.
In an office environment, I worked in law firms, usually in high responsibility secretarial or legal assistant positions. The characteristics of the type of bosses I worked with were manic, driven, and demanding perfectionists. It takes a certain type of personality to become an attorney and it takes a certain type of personality to support one.
One of the things I learned about myself was through
Carolyn Myss's book,
Sacred Contracts. In the back of that book is an index of different archetypes characteristics. One of my archetypes was that of a Sidekick: someone who provides support for another person of greater power. I immediately got a resentment when I identified with that archetype but it perfectly explained my vocation at the time and why I was good at it.
If you need more information or support in finding what role you play in difficult dynamics with a boss, feel free to contact me.
Photo courtesy of Larlo from Flickr.com.
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