How to handle a meanie

When Someone’s Being Downright Mean

Not every manager is a good one. There’s not much you can do about the way your manager speaks to you, even if it’s rude, unfair, or so irrational that it’s over-the-top.
Before you initiate a screaming match that won’t end well for you, take a deep breath and reinterpret your boss’s comments:

• If your boss does this a lot, imagine him as a crazy person who speaks his own bombastic language. Translate inside your head to figure out how would a normal person would express this same thought. “This is a total piece of crap, I hate it, and don’t have any suggestions on how to fix it, but it sucks” may just turn into, “I’m disappointed by these results, so why don’t you get back to me with some constructive suggestions on how you think we could improve our process?”
• Is there any truth in what he/she is saying? Forget the exact words that are being thrown around—are there any takeaways you should note for future improvement?
• Take note of all the helpful suggestions and feedback you dissected from his/her mean statement, and throw out the rest of the words. (Manage Up)