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iQuestions Faculty, Pat Gelsinger 
 
 
Question: 
 
How do you deal with a difficult boss? 
 
Answer:  
 
So, you’re having trouble with your boss. What can you do about it? 
 
Well, first thing is, no matter what the situation—you don’t like your 
job, the boss, whatever it might be—you need to keep doing a great 
job. 
 
But then you still are struggling with this boss. A couple of thoughts. 
One is, maybe it’s you and not the boss. You have to understand there 
are things that you need to change in how you work and how you 
interact with them, to make the situation better. 
 
I had a difficult boss, and I just could never quite get him to 
understand my point of view—and then some peers gave me some 
insights into how he thought and how he worked. What I realized was, 
I needed to change how I spoke to him. He had a very different style 
than me, and I was getting frustrated because he wasn’t 
understanding my style. Me, as the employee, could make big 
adjustments in how I worked with him and how I presented him 
information.  
 
All of a sudden, when I realized I could adjust my style to work better 
with him, wow, that started to make a huge difference. 
 
Be ready to talk with him about it. Sometimes those conversations are 
hard, but they can be powerful. If you’re ready to come humbly, really 
 
 
ready to listen to their point of view, have some proposals, some 
ideas—“Maybe this would be better: could I communicate with you this 
way or that way? Or maybe I communicate too much. Or maybe there 
are things that I’m doing that are annoying you as my supervisor.” Be 
ready to have that direct conversation with them.  
 
But ultimately, your performance is your job. You have to make sure 
that you’re fitting into the workplace, you’re being a great employee, 
and ultimately find ways that you could take that relationship with 
your supervisor, and have him make you better in the job that you’re 
doing every day.  
 
 
Gelsinger -2- 
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