COURSE OVERVIEW:
Welcome to the Dealing with Difficult Bosses course. This program will equip you with the practical communication techniques, behavioural strategies, and professional resilience needed to navigate challenging managerial relationships. You will explore how to communicate effectively with difficult bosses, how to minimise conflict, how to advocate for yourself professionally, and how to maintain your integrity and career progress even when working under ineffective, demanding, or unreasonable leadership. This course also highlights the importance of emotional control, documentation, assertiveness, and strategic communication in sustaining a productive relationship with any supervisor.
This course begins by examining the top seven imperatives of communicating with difficult people and the specific ways to communicate with difficult bosses. You will explore the idea that “your boss never went to boss school,” understanding that many leaders lack management training and rely on inconsistent or unrefined behaviours. This section also explains why you should stick to names, tasks, and agreements—and steer clear of emotions—to maintain clarity, reduce defensiveness, and keep conversations professional. You will also explore why you should use your supports, such as HR, mentors, or trusted colleagues, to help manage stressful interactions.
The next learning area focuses on bully bosses. You will examine what bully bosses are, how to confront a bully boss safely and professionally, and why pointing out repercussions that actually matter to the bully is more effective than emotional appeals. This section also addresses the importance of documenting your boss’s bullying behaviour to protect yourself, establish patterns, and support any future escalation or complaint.
A further section explores how to deal with unfocused and forgetful bosses. You will examine why every discussion should begin with a reminder, how to refer to outcomes your manager expected, and how to remind your boss of previous instructions without appearing confrontational. This approach helps ensure clarity, consistency, and accountability.
The program then examines distant, weak, or hands-off bosses. You will explore how to give your boss ideas, how to get your boss to say yes by framing proposals effectively, and how to request specific actions when you need support. This section also addresses how to establish a realistic and specific system for getting direction and feedback, ensuring that expectations are clear even when your boss does not naturally provide structure. You will also explore how to ask your boss directly for support with a difficult customer or co-worker, and how to request an overdue promotion or raise by clearly articulating your value and contributions.
A further learning area focuses on self-advocacy and professional recognition. You will explore how to accent the value of your role and your personal value, what to do if your boss turns down your request for a raise or promotion, and how to maintain momentum in your career despite setbacks.
The program then addresses how to deal with micromanagers. You will examine why you should assure the boss that you’re ahead on the details—even when they don’t ask—and how to give your boss a feeling of control without surrendering your autonomy. This section explores why providing information at the outset helps reduce micromanagement and how to help the boss feel secure enough to step back.
Another key learning area examines how to correct your boss’s mistakes without damaging your relationship. You will explore why complimenting your boss helps establish a constructive tone, how to suggest ways to avoid mistakes in the future, and how to communicate tactfully to preserve professionalism and trust.
The final section addresses longer-term career strategies. You will examine how to get a letter of recommendation from a reluctant boss, and how to say goodbye to a problem boss—without burning bridges—when you decide it is best to move on. This ensures you maintain your professional reputation and leave with relationships intact.
By the end of this course you will be able to communicate clearly with difficult bosses, advocate for your needs, manage micromanagement and poor leadership styles, address conflict with professionalism, build credibility, protect your wellbeing, and advance your career even in challenging supervisory environments.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:
- The top seven imperatives of communicating with difficult people
- Ways to communicate with difficult bosses
- Your boss never went to boss school
- Why you should stick to names, tasks, and agreements—and steer clear of emotions?
- Why you should use your supports?
- What bully bosses are?
- How to confront the bully boss?
- Why point out repercussions that actually hurt the bully boss?
- Why you should document your boss’s bully behaviour?
- How to deal with unfocused and forgetful bosses?
- Why start every discussion with a reminder?
- How to refer to outcomes that your manager expected?
- How to remind your boss of his or her previous instructions?
- How to deal with distant, weak, or hands-off bosses?
- How to give your boss ideas?
- How to get your boss to say yes?
- How to request specific actions when you need support?
- How to establish a realistic—and specific—way to get direction and feedback?
- How to ask your boss directly for support with a difficult customer or a difficult co-worker?
- How to ask for an overdue promotion or raise?
- How to accent the value of your role and your personal value?
- What to do if your boss turns down your request for a raise or promotion
- How to deal with micromanagers?
- Why assure the boss that you’re ahead on the details, even when the boss doesn’t ask?
- How to give your boss a feeling of control?
- Why provide information at the outset before being asked?
- How to help the boss feel in control?
- How to correct your boss’s mistakes?
- Why compliment your boss?
- How to suggest ways to avoid the mistake in the future?
- How to get a letter of recommendation from a reluctant boss?
- How to say good-bye to a problem boss—without burning bridges?
COURSE DURATION:
The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.
ASSESSMENT:
A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.
CERTIFICATION:
Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.