Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job [Hardcover]

Lynn Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2009

An indispensable guide to dealing with challenging, childish boss behavior and building a great career, with laugh- out-loud humor built in. Based on extensive interviews among workers, managers and psychologists, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ draws hilarious but true parallels between toddlers and managers. When under stress, both often have trouble moderating their power, or lose the ability to think rationally. Traits in common include tantrum-throwing, demanding, stubborn, moody, fickle, self-centered, needy and whiny behavior. BADD (Boss Attention Deficit Disorder) is discussed as part of “Short Attention Spans.” There are 20 chapter traits in all, divided into “Bratty” and “Little Lost Lamb” categories, for easy reference, including real anecdotes and many useful tips.

When bad bosses run amok in companies, nobody wins. This book shows readers how to build positive relationships with even the most out-of-control boss, and still thrive in your job. The key to success lies in dealing with a Terrible Office Tyrant (or TOT™) much like a parent deals with a troublesome toddler. With true stories and time-tested solutions, this is the perfect guide managing a boss stuck in his Terrible Twos. Taylor takes you behind all the bossy blustering, so that you can focus on getting ahead – and achieve career excellence.

Savvy top management will also gain insight on what not to do with their team. They know that Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) managers may not be in plain sight (they don’t leave juice stains on the hallway carpet!) But they do wreak havoc on the bottom line. A special section helps senior management and Human Resource departments mitigate TOT behavior for a more productive workplace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exceptionally helpful new book...excellent tips."
— - JOYCE LAIN KENNEDY, national career columnist, Tribune Media Services, author of multiple career bestsellers, including Resumes For Dummies.

"Every firm will want to ensure that they are not a TOT incubator!"
— SABEER BHATIA, cofounder of Hotmail, visionary, developer of the "Silicon Valley of India"

"Lynn Taylor helps you decode your boss...what barbs mean and how to deflect them."
—MARIE CLAIRE

"A savvy work read."
— MORE MAGAZINE

"Useful to many who feel trapped dealing with bad upper management."
— VIV MAGAZINE

"Insightful and practical…for anyone (and that means everyone) with a boss."
— ROBIN KOVAL, bestselling coauthor of The Power of Nice & The Power of Small

"Nobody understands the psychodynamics of workplace relationships like Lynn Taylor."
—DAPHNE ROSE KINGMA, bestselling author of ten relationship books, 6-time Oprah guest

"The advice in Taylor's book is preferable to going on the hunt for another job, except as a last resort."
— COLLEGERECRUITER

"Well-researched and thought-out…Being able to identify behaviors and their triggers, and use of Taylor’s coping strategies, will increase productivity and bring out the best in every employee — from the top down."
— NEWSHAWK

From the Inside Flap

Do you have a boss who acts like a demanding, stubborn, fickle, distracted, or needy child or engages in bullying tantrums, micro-management, mood swings, or endless whining? We all have to deal with imperfect bosses. Unfortunately, some of us have to deal with bad bosses who—if you aren't careful—can sink your career along with their own.

In Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT), Lynn Taylor gives you practical, real-world tactics for dealing with childish boss behavior without sacrificing your principles or exacerbating office strife. Wielding truth wrapped in hilarity, Taylor takes you behind the bossy blustering so that you can achieve your goals—and career excellence. Bosses will also benefit from this guide to gain insight on what not to do with their teams. If you are a CEO, you know instinctively that Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs) wreak havoc in your company, harming the bottom line. A special section will help you stop TOT behavior in its tracks–for a more humanized, productive workplace.

Like you, Taylor knows childish behavior when she sees it. In fact, bad bosses and kids who act out have plenty in common. But tirades, moodiness, and demanding behavior don't have to ruin your workday. In Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT), Taylor shows you how to build positive relationships with even the most out-of-control boss and thrive in your job. The key to success lies in dealing with a TOT much like a parent deals with a troublesome toddler.

No matter what kind of TOT you face each day, Taylor profiles them all here—from brats to little lost lambs—and shows you how to successfully manage their behavior for the sake of your career and your sanity. Based on extensive interviews and in-depth research, this indispensable guide demonstrates that with the right approach, you can tame your TOT.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470457643
• ISBN-13: 978-0470457641
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynn Taylor is a leading national workplace expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons). Taylor is an online columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, PsychologyToday.com, and a top ranked Google "workplace expert."

As CEO of Lynn Taylor Consulting, she provides research-based, lively seminars to organizations on how to establish a more productive management team and workforce. She has been interviewed on Fox and ABC Network TV, and has been quoted in Forbes, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Lynn has coined such terms as "Gen U" for Generations "Unretired" and "Tempreneur," and often addresses "humanizing the workplace" - topics that have been widely addressed in industry and media venues.

She received her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from New York University and lives in Southern California. For more information, visit TameYourTOT.com, LynnTaylorConsulting.com, their blogs, GenerationUworkforce.com, or call 1-800-454-0083.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Boss should also read this book., July 29, 2009

By 

Richard A. Levine (West Palm Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (Hardcover)

I have been a senior manager at a successful printing company for over 50 years. During that time, I have had as many as 100 employees. Even though this engaging book mostly deals with how the employee should handle their bosses, it is also a valuable lesson for managers who want to know how they are irritating their employees. There is also a management section on how to prevent the proliferation of "junior TOTs" among your staff, which gave me ideas, too.

I must admit that when I've been under pressure over the years to meet deadlines, there have been times when I behaved a bit like a tyrant. I have sometimes felt that my staff needed to be scolded like kids, before they did their job correctly. I believed that I had that right, because I paid them. From my point of view, I felt that a boss has every right do so because he (or she) is just that, "the boss." When I finally realized that they were laughing behind my back, I decided to seek advice on "Bossism."

After seeing Ms. Taylor's interview on TV, I decided to buy her book. Boy, what a lesson I learned! I wish I had read it sooner. It made me start to look at my employees from their perspective of me. I've begun to change my behavior and have started appreciating the employee's perspective of working for a bossy boss.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great advice for dealing with your boss!, July 21, 2009

By 

Mark Butler - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (Hardcover)

If you've ever wondered how to improve your job situation, one of the first steps is to improve your relationship with your boss, and career expert Lynn Taylor has some amazing insights along with some great humor in her book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant. First of all, check out the book's cover. You'll notice that Lynn's term "Terrible Office Tyrant" breaks down to TOT. Lynn believes that many bosses possess the same traits as tots and toddlers. Some are hard to handle (whining, bullying, territorialism) and others are less abrasive but still challenging (fickleness, forgetfulness, short attention spans.) Throughout the book, Lynn provides helpful, friendly advice on dealing with the Top 20 types of boss behaviors, backed with her years of experience in the careers field. The end result? You'll learn how to cope with difficult bosses, and position yourself to have a stronger, more positive rapport with your boss. That can create much needed job security, as well as position you towards future success in your career. A must read!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate, July 28, 2009

By 

Headhunter (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (Hardcover)

Take the amazing journey into the unique land of Lynn Taylor's - you'll enjoy the jungle ride into an original landscape, complete with familiar signposts. Instead of the usual mundane, plodding, self-help books, try on Taylor's hilarious perspective of workplace dynamics and how to deal with them successfully. Taylor has an original intelligence which she applies here to the business world in Taming Your Terrible Office Tyrant; adeptly using humor, grace, warmth, and situational street smart recipes which actually work.

Recommended highly to all strata of the corporate world, to anyone dealing with complex interpersonal relationships, or for plain laugh out loud entertainment. It's no accident that Taylor's recognized as a top workplace consultant. Read this book for innovative and highly creative techiniques to navigate through the maze of life and business unscathed.