Never be Afraid to Stand on the Boss' Desk

“Sit down!” my boss said to me. 

I found myself in this situation when I picked-up a call from my boss that was a terse, “My office, now!” It was obvious from the tone of his voice this would not be a pleasant meeting. After making my way to his office, I was told to close the door and sit down. 

My response, “No, I think I’ll stand.” I had recently taken one of those circle tests most of us have taken, which are used to help us understand our personality type and how to effectively deal with others. I chose that moment to try it out. 

“I said, sit down!!” he commanded, again. “No thank you, I prefer to stand.” This was followed by an even stronger demand for me to sit, and realizing I was not going to win this one, I complied, sat, and prepared for the verbal beating.

What happened next was not in the text book. My boss stood up! So, I stood up, followed by him standing on his chair. Then, I stood on my chair. At that point, he started to eye the desk, to which I said, “Don’t go there because no matter how high you climb I’ll always be taller than you.” He looked at me and said, “All right let’s sit down.” The meeting proceeded from there but somehow it ended-up being a little less tense.

This incident taught me that I need to always be ready to use circumstances to my advantage, and because I stood my ground, and in this case, out crazyed my boss, it defused the situation and changed the dynamic of the entire meeting. 

Roger’s Rule #1 

It's important to stay standing in presence of a high D, dominant personality, particularly if it is your superior, and in a situation that might be confrontational. By doing so you help level the playing-field between you and them at a time when they might otherwise attempt to dominate the moment. 

By the way we both had a laugh over this and I love to tell this story.