Dealing with an angry boss is a skill that every great manager must develop. Even the best bosses will eventually find themselves frustrated with something that you have done. Here are some tips that have worked for me.
- Listen to what your boss has to say about the problem.
Let them air out their feelings. This way of listening will help your boss know that you want to see things from their point of view. You might even say that if you standing where your boss is standing, you would feel the same way. Most importantly, letting them know that doing things the way that they want them done is important to you. You might develop some phrases that help you deal with an angry boss. “I understand.” “Yes, I can your point.” “I regret that I overlooked that detail.”
Acknowledging your boss’s point of view is a good way to help you bond with your boss.
- State that you want to learn from the situation to make sure that you do things differently in the future.
Everyone makes mistakes. Successful people do not repeat them. If there are many details in the information your boss is giving you, you might consider making notes.
If your boss wants things done differently than your company policy directs you, let your boss finish telling you how they want things done. Then you might say that you will follow their direction yet that had followed the company prescribed procedure.
Thank your boss for taking time to call the situation to your attention and assure them that you will not let the mistake happen again.
- Solve the problem immediately.
Nothing is more frustrating for an angry boss that to find greater frustration when someone does not take action on the situation caused the person’s frustration. If the problem is something that was part of a major project and is not something that you can mend or correct on future projects, let your boss know that if you had it to do over again, you hope that you would have handled things differently.