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Makes Sure the Boss Knows Your Side of the Story

An administrative assistant who worked for Vernice, the marketing firm owner Kansas City, Missouri, was the office tattle-tale and frequently used that role to wield power when the boss was away.

“You just wait until Vernice hears about this,” she often intoned.

And as soon Vernice returned, the woman rushed in with a laundry list of her colleagues so-called transgressions. The woman was trying to score points at her colleagues’ expense.

If your office arch nemesis is such a person, make sure you drop in on the boss occasionally to determine what he or she has been hearing. A good manager will discount tattle-tellers, but others may take them seriously.

When you get an audience with the boss, don’t tattletale to get back at your colleague. Frame your visit as a time to give the boss updates on a team project you’re working on, for example. Mention the disagreements with your colleague. And tell how you have resolved them. That should show the boss who is the more trustworthy bearer of news.