Nightmare boss-talk

I have a new boss. She is really nice - a great person.

But she seems to be having a problem focusing on anything. I am trying to tell her something and she talks in a tangent to whatever I'm saying...So much that I began to doubt my own communication capabilities. Everybody seems to be having the same problem with her...

Also, she's dumb when it comes to technical stuff. I dont really hate her...but i mostly ignore her.

oh god gala...where to start?

I'll be back.
we'll have a lot to share.

sakhi wrote:

I have a new boss. She is really nice - a great person.

But she seems to be having a problem focusing on anything. I am trying to tell her something and she talks in a tangent to whatever I'm saying...So much that I began to doubt my own communication capabilities. Everybody seems to be having the same problem with her...

Also, she's dumb when it comes to technical stuff. I dont really hate her...but i mostly ignore her.

That sounds confusing. I know about ignoring your "superior", but that can get a little draining.

It's draining to talk to my boss too.

There are several reasons, but lack of focus is a big one.

The only way to ensure she is listening to you is to literally call her attention to the fact she's not absorbing what you're saying being she's also doing at least 3 other things. We've worked together since 1998, so I have no problem with saying to her..."when you get done reading that email, I need to have all your attention so I can talk to you about 4 things"

I need to tell her there will be 4 items coming up, or I'll loose her in a tangent she'll go off on during the first. As I finish each one, I'll say, Now....pause....NEXT (or 3rd)....

This lack of focus has to do with a real self centeredness, a unawareness that others lives are different that hers, and quite frankly, a certain about of gaucheness.

whew gala.......that last part was hard to put into words.

This thread is going to be good for me I think....I don't need advice, but a place to express, and listen to others.

Definately a work in progress.....thanks

I have a multi paged thread on another forum about the people I work with.
They are very nice and incredibly intelligent but I have been f***ing livid about some things that have(or havnt) happened here.
My main concern (in my own 'im only a receptionist' way) is that I think people should come in at a good hour and work when they are there.
Yes, my colleagues work unsociable hours at times but other times I feel very annoyed when bosses come in late, avoid work, chat etc when there is a pooh load of work to do.
One boss went to a job that was a 4 hour drive away did the job then spent the rest of the day with his relatives that lived in the area!!!He had loads of work to do!!
He has also bought a shed, has his hair cut, picked up friends form the airport etc all on work time.
Things get delayed or forgotten then it all snowballs.I have very little work to do but sometimes there are 3 of us here, me and 2 superiors and they will chat about crap for a couple of hours instead of working!
Sometimes I dont get lunch or a break due to no cover being arranged, and Im rarely informed I wont be able to have a break.
Im in an hour before the colleagues here have to be in!!How crazy is that.I do nothing!

Call me crazy but Im under the impression that superiors are supposed to lead by example.No example here.

Best if I stop there or Il go off on one again.

He favors one person in the office who does minimal work, but she kisses his keester to kingdom come. She's a snitch and a back-stabber.

Gala wrote:

He favors one person in the office who does minimal work, but she kisses his keester to kingdom come. She's a snitch and a back-stabber.

My boss from Hell (one of them) was the type to demand ass kissing and then hate you for it. The more her ass was kissed, the harder she kicked the kisser. One man was old enough to be her father. He became her #1 whipping boy. It was a disgrace the way she belittled that man. Daily.

I moved to another department and have a new boss now since June. He is the head of research. He is the kindest person I know but it is still hard to work with him. These researchers really live in another world... Last week, he asked me to book a hotel for him in Barcelona. He had stayed there before, but couldn't remember the name. I looked all over, couldn't find anything, then he walks in with an email he printed out. There was a hotel name in the email which he had circled. He said "There! That's not the hotel I am talking about. We were supposed to stay in this hotel, but it was closed so we stayed in the other one I am looking for now..." Oh yes? That's really helpful!

He starts telling me something, gets lost in his thoughts and walks out in the middle of his sentence. He dictates emails on tape, I type them, mail them to him and he sends them on - if he remembers to read my mail...

But again - he is a very nice person. I used to work for a guy who needed total attention 24/7 almost. He'd call me from the airport in Lisbon asking me to change his flight. I change the flight, tell him to go the Lufthansa counter to have his ticket changed and he - seriously - asks me where the Lufthansa counter is. I couldn't stop myself and said that as hard as I am trying, I just can't see the Lisbon airport from my desk in Germany...

It's draining to talk to my boss too.