198: Boss Induced Aggravation Antidotes

<p>Conflict with bosses can often be a fundamental difference in personality types.  These differences are usually reflected in communication styles which don’t match.  If we know these things about others, bosses we can more easily deal with the differences.</p> <p> </p> <p>Are you the engagement survey assassin carving up your boss or are you the victim having to explain to senior management why your team’s scores are so dismal?  Naturally, the very top bosses rarely ever get surveyed, so they can be totally bolshie about your low scores.  Research informs us that Japan is a bastion of bad feelings and unhappiness, leading the world in low scores.  Even taking out the “Japan bias” of conservative scoring, the results here are still pretty miserable.  We also know from the research that the biggest factor in lack of team engagement with the ideals, direction and aspirations of the organization is the lousy relationship staff have with their boss. </p> <p> </p> <p>Good communication skills are often in short supply with bosses and this leads to unhappiness.  It is not that bosses can’t talk, in fact often they talk and talk and talk.  It is the way they speak and the thinking behind the words that are inflaming their subordinates.  Bosses can be limited by their own preferred scope and style.  The latter may hit the target with those who are more like them, but leaves the rest of the troops underwhelmed, uninspired, and unhappy.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bosses are often oblivious to the idea of diversity.  I don’t mean diversity as mainly considered in Japan, which is usually about lack of inclusion of women in the workplace.  Diversity here means variations amongst the team in terms of communication preferences.  There are lots of tools for determining this stuff ranging from the exotic - blood type, Chinese zodiac (both very popular in Japan), Western astrology, to the more scientific  - DiSC, Myers Briggs, etc.  If you don’t happen to carry this stuff around in your pocket, here are two decisions to determine the best