JEKYLL-HYDE BOSSES CREATE AN OFFICE HELL.

Byline: KEN LLOYD

Q I work in a small office for two bosses. One is passive and noncontrolling, and the other is verbally abusive and very controlling. I have asked the abusive boss to please not speak to me that way, and he said if I don't like it I know where to go. I have spoken to my other boss, and he said there is nothing he can do. Excluding the verbally abusive boss, this is a good job. How do I get through another day? N.L.

A In many cases, two heads are better than one, but not when it comes to bosses. When you approached the seemingly better boss and indicated that the behavior of his co-boss is distressing to you, only to hear that ``there is nothing he can do,'' that phrase is probably quite descriptive of his overall managerial skills.

With the abusive manager saying you ``know where to go'' if you do not like his style, he is right: You and any fellow employees who have been subjected to his verbal abuse should go to whoever manages this less-than-dynamic duo. Senior managers do not like anything that interferes with performance or poses a potential liability for the company.

However, if this duo has no boss, you should approach the noncontrolling boss and encourage him to stand up for you. Since he is a noncontrolling person, he should not be that difficult to influence, particularly if you and your associates advise him of the broad range of unhappy endings to stories of verbal abuse.

Q An employee who reports to me became huffy when I reviewed some problems in her performance over the past few weeks. I don't like her attitude, and I am concerned that it will spread to the rest of the staff. How do I prevent this? S.T.

A One of the most effective ways to turn a happy employee into a huffy employee is to withhold feedback for weeks at a time, and then launch a litany of criticism.

If an employee is having performance problems, it is more effective for the manager to meet with him or her when the problems are occurring. Importantly, the purpose of such a meeting is not for evaluation or criticism, but for coaching.

This approach provides an opportunity to focus on the employee's performance while it is still clear in his or her mind, and then to present some methods to improve it. One of the most powerful techniques is for the manager to model the correct way to handle a particular responsibility, and then to provide the employee with the opportunity to practice it, followed by corrective feedback.

Bad attitudes are indeed infectious, and there are actions you can take to deal with employees who cannot get with the program. However, it is not surprising to find your employee's defensiveness in response to a barrage of negative feedback. As a result, your best antidote is to increase the dosage of two-way communication.

Q Our company has a mission statement that, among other things, encourages employee ideas. I had a terrific idea that I presented at an open meeting with several members of top management. One of them, who is not my manager, tore my idea apart and left me standing like a fool. I am upset, and I still think my idea would work. What should I do? B.D.

A Mission statements run the gamut from being an accurate depiction of the philosophy, culture and objectives of an organization all the way to being nothing more than something to occupy wall space. The fact that a top manager left you standing actually tells you where your company stands.

Equally troubling in this situation is the fact that no one else from management, including your own manager, approached you to indicate that there may be some steps for you to take if you want to develop your idea further. Nonetheless, it sounds like you are not going to be satisfied unless you go further with it.

As a result, you should consider doing some homework and putting together a summary that demonstrates how the idea will work and how it will benefit the company. You should present the summary to your manager and ask if it can be implemented at least on a trial basis in your department, adding that if the results are anything short of outstanding, it can be scrapped.

Unfortunately, based on what you have already experienced, you may hit a wall. This is typical of a company whose mission statement is actually a submission statement.