New Boss… New Problems
New Boss…New Problems
We have all been there… You get a new boss and everything changes. In some cases, it is a welcomed change with a new leader with great leadership skills who inspires you to be better. Often times, however, it is a nightmare of stress and heartache. We are creatures of habit, and most of us instinctively dislike change. “The old boss was just fine, why did they get fired?” So we are left with uneasy feelings and fear of the unknown before we ever meet the new boss.
“They do things differently just to be different. He/She doesn’t understand all of my past dedication and achievements. They make old mistakes as well as new mistakes. This is a nightmare.”
What can you do about it?
When faced with this situation you really only have three courses of action: Fight, Flight, or Reconcile.
Fight:
You can push back and argue your point of view until you are blue in the face. Eventually one of you will back down and possibly see the other person’s point of view. “Fighting” normally involves trying to recruit people to take sides and ends in harsh feelings of distrust. Just remember that in this scenario that this person is your boss, so we do not recommend this approach for the long term.
Flight:
You can leave. The grass is always greener, right? Sometimes a situation may be beyond saving and it is necessary to go ahead and move on. Just be aware that you might be heading to the same type of circus with different clowns.
Reconcile:
Which means getting rid of the emotions, changing them or channeling them differently. It means coming to peace with your decision to stay and having a plan in place to deal with the changes. Reconciliation requires some tough choices and some tough (targeted) conversations. It requires setting up boundaries and engagement rules. Be cautious in your approach. Do it prudently and when you are ready. Do it only when you see a good opportunity.
Think about the pros and cons of each option.
Put yourself in your new bosses shoes… are they really a bad person? or are they just doing what they think is best for the company?
Have you given their way a fair chance?
Formulate a strategy, come up with an action plan, then implement the action plan. Whatever you decide, be confident that you have made the right decision by doing your due diligence as opposed to simply reacting to the situation.