University of the Western Cape: Dealing with impossible bosses is possible
Impossible Bosses: Secret Strategies to Deal with 8 Archetypal Managers – the well-received book on how to take back control of your career – is going digital.
The book was penned by the University of the Western Cape’s Deputy-Vice Chancellor: Academic, Professor Vivienne Lawack, Hanlie Lizette Wessels and Robert Craig.
The book takes an in-depth look at eight archetypal managers who could stymie one’s professional growth. They include:
My Say-Me: The competitive control freak
Mr Tumbleweed: The indecisive worrier
Mr Bright: The needy smarty pants
Ms Crosswire: the disorganised people schmoozer
Ms When-We: The stuck-in-the-past broken record
Mr Make-Up: the seemingly nice manipulator
Mr Slow-Lounge: The disengaged passenger
Mr Illusion: The calculated political strategist
The book unlocks their psychological profiles and teaches the reader how to deal with these individuals to take back control ultimately.
To date, the book has made waves in the media with authors hosted on radio and television, and several articles have been published. The book’s reception has encouraged a move to assist the public via digital platforms.
Wessels explained that not only will the characters be explored in newsletters, but people could book information sessions.
“And we are moving digital too by creating toolkits per character as well, so if people want to look at selected characters that they want special help on – we will be able to provide help,” said Wessels at the launch of the book at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Business School in Qqeberha.
Prof Lawack said it is humbling to see how people use the book to advance their careers and break free from difficult situations at work.
Tanya Wagenaar, lecturer at the Faculty of Law at NMU, attended the launch and described Wessels and Prof Lawack’s presentation as “eye-opening”.
“I loved that as they were speaking, you think: ‘I’ve seen that person before. I recognise that person. But at the same time, there is an opportunity to learn, especially if you are thinking about leadership. Something like this, as they say, is a coach in your pocket,” said Wagenaar.