How to Handle an Absentee Boss

There you are, working your tail off and the boss is never around, or worse yet, he's working out of his home, or in another city or state. The absentee boss will send you emails and call in. He may even deign to show up occasionally, shmoozing with the top brass to justify his or her absence, telling them: "Hey, my team can handle it….I'm on top of everything!" 

 

 

This situation, which many organizations seem to tolerate, can be extremely counterproductive. A boss needs to be where the action is, not necessarily to micromanage, but to be where "the rubber hits the road," especially when critical issues come up. And these days, issues do come up. The speed of business is constantly accelerating.  The competition is fierce and markets are constantly changing. With staff cutbacks, today’s workers are being asked to put in longer hours. A leader has to be physically present to lead. 

 

Absentee bosses create a demoralizing environment. Their staff needs "press the flesh" attaboys to keep up morale, especially in these tough economic times. Emails don't cut it.  A "quarterback" who's absent leaves a vacuum of support, feedback and direction.  And, no, you can't do that with a phone call or text message. Troops need to see their leader in the trenches with them, fighting for them in meetings and boardrooms.  

 

One survey found that fewer than 40 percent of workers trust or have confidence in their senior leadership.  Another study revealed that 50 percent of all employees have ineffective and often miserable relationships with their bosses. Many studies show that people mostly leave their jobs because they feel under-appreciated. Given these and other work-related studies, one can see the importance of having a boss physically on hand. 

 

So what to do if you have an absentee boss? Some suggestions:

 

Discipline yourself. Learn to make boss-like decisions on your own and have backup materials and arguments ready in case the boss questions your decisions. 

 

Keep a tight schedule. Come in early, stay a few minutes late. Set and meet deadlines for your work. Conduct meetings with your co-workers to make sure you're working as a team and not duplicating efforts.

 

Email the Boss. Send frequent emails to let the boss know what's going on. Send him or her a schedule and update it frequently. When emailing, “cc” appropriate team members. 

 

Be Prepared. Have a solutions plan ready in the event predicable problems arise. Your absentee boss may not see them coming, but you will, so be ready. 

Build relationships. Your absentee boss may not be around for long. So establish relationships with other managers or VPs. 

If your boss is constantly “out to lunch” or on a “business trip,” there are steps you can take to work around his absence and keep things moving.