Dealing With Your Incompetent Boss - Harvard Business Review

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SKIP TO CONTENTHarvard Business Review LogoManaging upDealing with Your Incompetent Boss

by Amy Gallo

June 6, 2011
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Everyone complains about their boss from time to time. In fact, some consider it a national workplace pastime. But there’s a difference between everyday griping and stressful frustration, just as there is a clear distinction between a manager with a few flaws and one who is incompetent. Dealing with the latter can be anguishing and taxing. But with the right mindset and a few practical tools, you can not only survive but flourish.

Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, a cohost of the Women at Work podcast, and the author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict(Harvard Business Review Press, 2017). She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics.@amyegallo
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