{"id":31172,"date":"2025-11-04T00:23:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T23:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=31172"},"modified":"2025-11-06T04:17:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T03:17:06","slug":"how-to-work-with-an-insecure-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/how-to-work-with-an-insecure-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Work with an Insecure Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in professional environments, not every boss leads with confidence. Some managers struggle with insecurity, which can show up as micromanaging, defensiveness, or taking credit for others\u2019 work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This video by Amy Gallo from Harvard Business Review explains how to recognize an insecure boss and offers practical ways to handle the situation without escalating conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"How to Work with an Insecure Boss: The Harvard Business Review Guide\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w9AhH0xnb3M?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vocabulary Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does <strong>\u201cto rile someone up\u201d<\/strong> mean? \u201c<em>If your boss is <strong>riling you up<\/strong>, excuse yourself for a moment to take time to compose yourself and calm down.<\/em>\u201d Use it in a sentence. Give a synonym.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does <strong>\u201cto downplay\u201d<\/strong> mean? \u201c<em>Don&#8217;t, in anyway <strong>downplay<\/strong> your efforts, but highlight the partnership.<\/em>\u201d Use it in a sentence. Give a synonym.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does <strong>\u201cto set the tone\u201d<\/strong> mean? <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s never too late to reset the tone of your relationship<\/em>.&#8221; Use it in a sentence. Give a synonym.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have you ever worked or studied under someone who seemed insecure or controlling? How did it affect your performance?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do you think some people become insecure after being promoted to leadership positions?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which of Amy Gallo\u2019s tips (patience, teamwork, flattery, reassurance) do you think is most effective? Why?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the possible effects of working for an insecure boss in the long term?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you were the manager, how would you prevent your own insecurities from affecting your team?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Even in professional environments, not every boss leads with confidence. Some managers struggle with insecurity, which can show up as micromanaging, defensiveness, or taking credit for others\u2019 work. This video by Amy Gallo from Harvard Business Review explains how to recognize an insecure boss and offers practical ways to handle the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,290,14,156,480],"class_list":["post-31172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-listening","tag-video","tag-work","tag-work-and-workplace"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Work with an Insecure Boss | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/how-to-work-with-an-insecure-boss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Work with an Insecure Boss | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Even in professional environments, not every boss leads with confidence. Some managers struggle with insecurity, which can show up as micromanaging, defensiveness, or taking credit for others\u2019 work. 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