Do you have a boss who only notices the negatives but never appreciates the positives?

Do you feel your hard work is not acknowledged and you have no opportunities for growth?

Surprisingly enough, this behaviour among bosses is not uncommon. In a survey carried out by a staffing firm in Chicago, nearly 90% of workers reported having a difficult boss. Around half of the workers that were surveyed had to quit their jobs because of a bad superintendent.

It almost seems like a rite of passage to have a boss that is hard on you. Because most of us will, at one point or another, encounter such a person. Whether they’re credit mongering or trying to micromanage you, such bosses are impossible to please. No matter how frustrated you are, you need to remember that a tough boss cannot make or break your career.

You have the power to remain a few steps ahead of your boss by following some simple rules:

1. Stay one step ahead

Use the situation to your advantage and take it as an opportunity to progress in your career. If your boss tries to take credit for your work, make it harder for him/her to lie. Try to loop in all the important people involved in a project on emails or memos and keep them updated about the progress. Align yourself with higher-ups and other people in your department that can vouch for you. If your boss tries to take credit for your efforts during a meeting, join the conversation and emphasize the role you played while also giving credit to your boss.

2. Be on top of your game

If you have a way in to check your boss’s calendar then keep yourself up to date on it. Be aware of what your boss is working on and what his/her main concerns are all the time. Try to set up weekly one-on-one meetings with your boss and prepare informal reports with details of your project statuses and any important updates he/she should know about. This meeting can also serve as an opportunity for you to gain insightful knowledge about your boss’s priorities.

3. Be accountable & a master of solutions

Too often, employees try to cover up their mistakes fearing the aftermath of acceptingtheir own faults. Show your boss that you are accountable for your mistakes and be upfront about it. Tell your boss what went wrong and present viable solutions to the problem. To make it even better, tell let your boss know about the steps you’ve taken to mitigate the setback. It’s common to make a mistake but you can stand out by showing that you are responsible, resourceful and proactive when you do make them.

4. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

Having a boss who forces you to constantly scrutinize your ideas before pitching them to someone else and bring your A game at all times can train you to become a better employee. Bosses who are hard on their employees can teach invaluable lessons on how to climb your way up the corporate ladder. Sure, you have to double check your work and on your guard all the time but in the end, you will come out stronger.