These are the 4 worst types of bosses—and how to survive working for them

If you’ve been in the workplace for a while, you’ve probably had your share of bad bosses. Maybe you’ve worked for someone who frequently went MIA, ignoring your emails or requests for information. Or perhaps you’ve had to report to someone who changed their mind on a dime and expected you to drop everything and follow along.

If these scenarios sound familiar, it’s because bad management styles often fall into one of several archetypes, says Eric Charran, author of Have You Ever Had a Boss That . . .: Succeeding in a Dysfunctional Workplace. 

“Sometimes the tools in a manager’s leadership toolbox make it difficult—and almost impossible—to want to work for them,” he says. “The first thing to do is to try to overcome an overwhelming urge to say ‘Why are they doing this to me? It must be that I’m deficient in some way.’ It’s not necessarily that individual’s personality is a mismatch [for yours] or that they don’t like you. It’s just that they’re using a hammer when they really need a screwdriver.”

Whether you have a difficult boss right now or one lurking in your future, it’s possible to thrive under their leadership by understanding their motivations. Here are four of the common boss archetypes that Charran identifies in his book, and how you can deal with their behavior.

The Attack Sub 

An Attack Sub manager is someone who operates stealthily for an extended period with minimal interaction or feedback. Suddenly, they surface with a flood of information and demands, launching figurative bombs and missiles. They catch employees off guard, shifting priorities and directives and leaving everyone wondering what just happened as they return beneath the water

“The Attack Sub Manager can be extremely difficult to deal with,” Charran says. “They run silent and deep. You’re trying to send them Slacks, or emails, or texts, and it just bounces off them. On the surface, they appear to have a poor capability to manage communication and to give guidance.”

If you are comfortable with putting out fires, you may work well with this type of boss. But if you’re someone who is detail-oriented, a manager who shoots from the hip will be frustrating. To best work with an Attack Sub manager, Charran recommends reaching out to them first thing in the morning, before they become distracted. Keep messages concise and focused on short, tactical items. It can also help to switch your channels of communication; breaking everyday patterns can draw their attention. 

The Order Taker

The Order Taker boss values harmony, hierarchy, and compliance. Their goal is to prove their value to the organization, and the best way to do that is to get you to do what they ask. While this sounds reasonable, demands can quickly turn into commands that put current workloads at jeopardy. 

“If you’re constantly switching from one thing to the other, you’re never going to finish anything,” says Charran. “Your results at the end of the year from a performance perspective will look abysmal. You will have failed the organization because you are not working on important things—you keep stopping them to follow new commands.”

The way to work with the Order Taker boss is by managing up, says Charran. “Their expectation is that you’ll say yes to everything, adding, ‘Do you want fries with that?’” he says. “They need to be educated and not saluted. They’re looking for somebody to say, ‘Hey, if we do this, here’s what we could jeopardize.’ They’re looking for more of a partner, rather than somebody that says, ‘Got it, boss.’”

The Raw Nerve 

The Raw Nerve boss is highly emotional, often reacting in the moment. This archetype often develops in an environment where quick decision-making is valued, says Charran. They equate immediate action with effectiveness. However, it can come at the expense of thoroughness or the well-being of team members if they ignore or don’t explore possible consequences.

“Their decisions are not entirely relationship based and not entirely data based,” Charran says. “They’re a confluence of all those things. They utilize their cred for quick decision making unilaterally, which can be harmful in many situations.”

The best way to thrive with this type of boss is to turn to your support networks that extend beyond your team before any final decisions are made. Leverage the power of a group by talking to customers, higher management, and peers. The key, though, is that you don’t do it behind your boss’s back. 

“It has to be done completely above board,” Charran says. “If done correctly, you can make the communication innocuous enough that it will seen by your manager as stakeholder management.” 

The Complainer 

As the name implies, the Complainer is the boss who is constantly complaining. For example, their team isn’t big enough, they don’t have the correct resources, or they’ve been giving unrealistic goals by their superiors. What they don’t realize is that their venting is bringing down the team and poisoning the well.

“Off-the-cuff remarks have a cognitive impact on team morale,” Charran says. “The things may be true, but it ends up coming off negative. What the team sees is a person in a downward spiral of jadedness. This archetype usually results from a deep-seated insecurity.” 

The human brain is wired to look for threats, and, whether they’re a danger or not, the brain will find them. To work for a Complainer, Charran says you need the intellect and drive to make positive mental choices instead of getting dragged into their storm. 

“Coexisting with the Complainer begins with empathy,” he says. “This doesn’t mean condoning endless negativity but rather recognizing it as a cry for help or a sign of deeper issues. Empathy must be balanced with the establishment of positive boundaries to protect your own mental and emotional well-being.”

While it can be frustrating to work for someone with an outlook and behavior that clashes with your own, Charran says you’re ultimately responsible for your own happiness and have tools within your own reach. 

“A fundamental principle in maintaining a positive mental attitude is understanding the emotions of others and how they express them,” Charran says. “Their attitudes and reactions are not contagious and do not have to be internalized. Empathize with others and understand their emotions, but don’t be sucked into a collective negative spiral. Knowing your worth is important and so is choice.”