Confronting the Boss

Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.

  Career Development  

Picture this all too familiar scenario: You're not getting along with your boss and you're at the end of your tether. You've got three options: 1. Grin and bare it; 2. Find another job and quit; 3. Talk to your boss and try to resolve your differences.

The first two are easy outs, but the last could backfire if you're not careful. If you love your job and want to stay where you are, it might be worth giving it a shot, but only if you're careful and consider possible repercussions.

So what should you do? Read on and you'll discover some options. After that, it's your call. (I take no responsibilities if you're "de-hired," "furloughed" or just plain fired.)

Even if you're reasonably sure things will work out, you never know when the game may turn ugly. As Mardy Grothe and Peter Wylie said in Problem Bosses, too many things can go awry. Once you've crossed the border into the enemy camp, there is no turning back. Without warning or provocation, things can turn against you and you'll wish you had left well enough alone. Once you've walked into their office, there's no backing off. You've walked into the war zone and, like it or not, you had better be good at defending yourself.

It's your intellect, your ability to read people and your persuasive people skills that will, hopefully, make this a successful confrontation. But if this …

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