Surrounded by Bad Bosses (and Lazy Employees): How to Stop Struggling, Start Succeeding, and Deal with Idiots at Work

“The world is full of bad bosses,” so it’s best to learn how to work together, writes Erickson (Surrounded by Idiots) in this encouraging treatise. Erickson recommends that readers understand their own personality type, and their manager’s, to figure out how to communicate effectively. To do this, he uses William Moulton Marston’s DISC system, which separates two pairs of opposites—task-oriented versus relationship-oriented, and extrovert versus introvert—into types, which allow workers to better predict how their bosses will behave, and vice-versa. The model, he writes, also allows colleagues with different communication styles to understand one another even if they work differently. Erickson leads readers through understanding how conflicts can lead to workplace stress, and how to adapt behavior in response to a colleague’s personality type. He then switches to the boss’s perspective and runs through ideas for how to put together a team, deal with trouble employees, motivate staff, and give and receive feedback. His model, he emphasizes, is just one way of understanding personality and communication clashes, but readers—especially those already sold on his previous work—will find it convincing. The dual focus on both employee and manager separates this from the pack. (July)