Chapter 2: When You Work for a Jerk

Overview

Philip Topham, a senior information management executive and coaching client, shared his early-career nightmare boss story with me:

None of us knew whether the boss would arrive in his Ferrari or his Custom Jeep. When he arrived in his Ferrari, it was not a good sign.

Like a precision Doo Dah Parade of one, on a Ferrari day he would arrive after 9:00 a.m., screech into the parking lot, leap from the car, and with briefcase in one hand and the Wall Street Journal in the other, march into the office, head straight, chin up—no smiles; no hellos.

His office door would close, and 3 minutes later the door would fly open. “You F##$#$%# pieces of @$#@$ . . . #$%# #$ . . . #@$%#$ . . . get on the phones, bring me some deals, you lazy @#$@#$, I should fire you all.”

This was his idea of a motivational speech, and it would last for several minutes. Like cockroaches in the light, we scuttled back to our phones; he would return to his office, not to be seen again until his next tirade.

When we knew the coast was clear, we would crawl back to the water cooler and ask each other how the job search was going.

How can you work for someone whose leadership style is so unbalanced? Philip knew that this situation was not good for him, and he moved on. What would you do? Or, better yet, what have you done when you were faced with this predicament?

When you find that the results of your interview process did not adequately predict the reality of the workplace, it is time to analyze what is not working for you, and deal with it.