How to deal with a difficult manager

Co-owner and education director for Liverpool based salon Parker and Dicce, Chris Parker advises on how to make a difficult boss work for you – and make you career progression that much easier. Salon managers serve an important function. They should be there to support you, your clients and ultimately grow the salon business. But like all of us, salon managers are only human, and they don’t all come with a certificate of authenticity. However, often it can be fairly easy to appease these seemingly tricky bosses and help make your working life a lot easier – here’s some examples. Manger type: Snarky Susan – always has a put-down ready Snarky Susan is the salon manager who IS never impressed. She’s perfected a roll of the eyes and snarky comment for every salon situation possible. When you last did an amazing hair-up she probably just looked and said, “I'm sure I saw that last night on YouTube!”, before rolling her eyes and walking away. So what’s going on? Well you might not believe it, but Susan just wants to get the job done. In this case the 'job' means getting through her list of clients as quickly and efficiently as possible. She sees your new ideas and techniques as potential threats to that, and so, she puts them down before they have a chance to flower. What can you do? You can call her out on it as soon as she makes her next snarky remark. “Yes Susan, I did see it on YouTube. But after doing it today, I think I might have found a faster and easier way to do it. Unless you already know a faster way of doing it?” Snarky Susan may be insecure, but she isn’t stupid. She won't put herself in a position where she could embarrass herself in front of other clients or the team. Once she understands that you aren't there to slow her down, she may even take an interest in you and your new hair designs! Manager type: Perfectionist Paula – Nothing’s ever good enough Perfectionist Paula’ keeps on demanding more and more from you; nitpicking at everything you thought you were good at, all the while telling others how much more she can teach you. When you last felt excited by a new colour application she told you, “I have a better way to do that and I’ll show it to you later!” So what’s going on? "Perfectionist Paula" wants to make sure that the job is not only done, but that it is done right. Not only is she worried that your new colour technique isn’t as effective as hers, she is also worried that it might not get good enough results. What can you do? The easiest way to win over Perfectionist Paula is to let her know that you've heard her, but also get her to acknowledge to you and herself that your work is good and already up to standard. “That’s great you have an easier way, but when you say that, did you think that my technique looked too difficult?” Of course, the answer will be, “No.” “So you'd be OK if I used that technique again?” “Yes. Sure," she might reply, "But I was just saying I know another technique that might be easier.” And you could reply with, "Ok. That would be great. I thought you were saying that you didn't like the way I had done it, but I'd love to see another way of doing it too!" This will help Paula to realise that you already take pride in your work, and that like her, you always want to make sure that it's done perfectly. Nit-picking your work doesn’t help her to achieve what she's after – perfection - and she will soon change her approach. Manager Steve: Sure Thing Steve - Keeps on saying yes Sure Thing Steve just won’t say’ No’ to anybody, so he keeps on letting you down. He’ll promise a meeting with you and two other staff but then book out two cut and blowdries too. When you last agreed a plan of action with him he probably replied with, “You’ll have this by next week!”. And no doubt, you’re probably still waiting. So what’s going on? Steve wants to get along with everybody. So he over-commits and under-delivers. As a result he ends up pleasing nobody. His clients are kept waiting and his staff are too. What can you do? If you get angry with Steve for letting you down he will be very apologetic, but inside he will be furious that you could be angry with him for something he feels was way beyond his control. What you need to do with Steve is get a commitment in advance that you can rely on, and then make sure to remind him of that commitment. “Steve, can I book you out on Wednesday at 2pm for an hour to discuss some courses I would like to do?" Follow up with, "Great! I'll remind you on Tuesday night just to be sure we get to have our meeting. Some of the courses start next month so I will need to get them booked. I'd be really disappointed if I missed the first couple of courses!" By letting Steve know in advance about the consequences of him missing your meeting it will ensure his commitment to you. But remember, between then and now he will say “Yes!” to a lot more people. Be sure to remind him the day before of your meeting with him and how important it is for you that it goes ahead. This is the best way to get "Sure Thing Steve" to actually follow up and give you what you need. Manager type: What About Me? William – turns it all on himself. ‘What About Me? William’ is the friendliest, happiest, smiliest manager anyone could work with until one day, out of the blue, he just blows up over something little. ‘Kaboom!” He will complain at you, and everybody else who is there, how he is taking home less than minimum wage, and how nobody cares what he gets, and how no one appreciates how hard it is for him, and how that’s what’s wrong with staff nowadays and a million other things. When he last blew up it might have ended with something along the lines of, “I don’t even know why I bother opening up any more!” So what’s going on? 'What About Me? William' feels under-appreciated by everybody. He genuinely feels as if he is giving and giving and giving to everybody (including his clients), but nobody is giving him any appreciation for it. What can you do? If you are around during one of his explosions, you are best off saying nothing at all. Approach him the next day when he is calmer and let him know that you do appreciate him as a boss and remind him of all the good things he does for you. Only once he feels appreciated by you will he begin to be open to new ideas, see you as a source of positivity and someone whom he can rely upon. Once he feels calmer, and more appreciated, you could even ask him, "Why was it that you got so angry yesterday? Was there anything I did to make you feel that way? I wouldn't want anyone to feel that way because of something I said or did without realising it." Again, just letting William know that he's appreciated as a manager can sometimes go a long way towards avoiding his tantrums and earn you respect. Working with any salon manager can be a fiery relationship, but better communication and understanding on both sides can lead to a blossoming working environment.