When your boss is too busy for you

A boss who is too busy may seriously dismiss you and others in the office. Or they may not be able to look away from their text, email, or phone to answer your questions or provide you with what you need.

These bosses may not admit it to themselves, but that’s the way they want it. They are stuck with tasks others should. Not only do you not get the help you need, but you also make sure that others don’t help you. They believe they have problems with delegation and can do everything better than anyone else.

There may be another reason for this behavior fear If they build a team and let go of some tasks, others will no longer see them as essential to manipulation. As a result, they restrain their own growth. They leave time to themselves to plan important future moves, and they make you feel frustrated.

What you’re thinking

When she was away on Thursday, we were able to see her boss asking Sheila for some advice. She gave me the authority to act. If something doesn’t work, it’s always my fault. Now I really need that document before proceeding and she keeps rejecting me, “I’ll handle it.” I understand that she’s busy, but she doesn’t have to be that sudden and cruel. She shows that she respects her laptop more than I do.

Your boss’s thoughts

These people can’t imagine the great responsibility I run a large department. You’ll think they’ll show me some consideration and realize the pressure I’m under. For example, Paul continues to annoy me for those documents. Why can’t he just leave and wait until I’m ready for him?

strategy

Your goal is to complete the tasks you have been assigned. This involves extracting the necessary data from busy bosses.

1. Pant – Don’t stand up. Manage the manager. When you tell your boss that she’s wrong, she protects her ego with a counterattack. So don’t even look like you’re arguing with her. Often, you can hand over the ball to your boss just by asking her for her opinion or asking her to make a choice.
2. Focus on your boss’s needs, not on yours. If you complain and gain position with constructive suggestions, you lose the ground. Force yourself to look past her cart manners instead about the options she has to achieve her goals. She tends to help you if she sees her actions as helping herself. It indicates that you are a team player. Your positive suggestions can light the path and help you and your team.

Tactical story

you: Do bosses think it’s better to call Sue or send an email first when the project delays the schedule?

or: Boss, I have an idea that can help you do a while. What happens if I use a program that provides such a graph to show the stages of achievement?

Helping your boss see better, you look better. Selfish bosses worry about the perceptions that supervisors and colleagues have about their professionalism. If necessary, you can give them ideas that you can share with others, or assert them as yours.

Copyright©2025 Amy Cooper Hakim