The Way Up

CHAPTER 9Navigate and Survive Bad Bosses: How to Handle Hostile or Biased Bosses in the Workplace

A bad boss is like a disease of the soul.

—Chetan Bhagat, Author, Columnist, listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in 2010

I was once working as an entry-level analyst at a large health insurance company. One day my supervisor came over to my desk, saying he wanted to ask me a nagging question. He sat on my desk at my small cubicle.

“Errol, you love chicken, obviously.” I blinked. “I was wondering if you have any suggestions on the best place to get chicken wings. …” He went on to describe the type of chicken wings he liked. That they were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and not just the small tiny ones, but larger ones too. I assume he thought I would know the really good restaurants located in the outer boroughs, like The Bronx or Queens or areas he'd never bothered to explore himself.

Timothy S. Taylor

Former Senior Counsel of the New York State United Teachers Union

“Keep your eye on the prize. Move onto higher ground and ignore the petty tyranny of small minds. You can call me anything you want as long as you spell my name correctly on your paycheck.”

All I could think was, Why is my supervisor asking me about chicken wings? I wanted to ignore him—and even tell him how ridiculously absurd he was being, not to mention racially stereotypical. But instead, I relented and suggested the first restaurant in Manhattan that came to mind. ...