When your boss doesn’t have a clue

An incompetent boss—one who is functionally inadequate or insufficient in knowledge, skills, judgment or strength—is annoying at best and damaging to your career at worst.

To keep your career moving forward in spite of a clueless boss, Dorothy Tannahill-Moran recommends that you:

• Manage yourself. You don’t need a title to be a leader. If you know your stuff, you can chart your own path toward objectives that will have a positive effect on your department and the company. Just remember to keep your boss in the loop.
• Identify the pain points. Figure out the main negative effects of your boss’s incompetence and come up with a plan to overcome them.
• Become a teacher. Sometimes you have to train a boss to get him up to speed, so share your knowledge.
• Find a mentor. Pick someone more competent in your company and ask him to be your mentor.
• Get a new job. When you think you’ve tried everything, it may be time to find a new job and move on.

— Adapted from “5 Ways to Deal With an Incompetent Boss,” Dorothy Tannahill-Moran, Careerealism.