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How to Forgive Your Boss by Tammy Dewar

How to Forgive Your Boss

Or Anyone Who Has Done You Wrong

by Tammy Dewar

Pub Date: Oct. 29th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4602-7185-8
Publisher: FriesenPress

A professional coaching consultant, in this debut self-help book, discusses the importance of releasing one’s negative emotions in order to improve one’s work/life existence.

In her early 30s, after years of encountering bad bosses, Dewar realized that “The only constant in all these experiences was me.” Here, she offers discussion and tips on the “important inner work that is forgiveness.” It isn’t about confronting or assessing the “badness” of a boss’s behavior, she says, but rather about undergoing a “rather messy and uncomfortable journey” of assessing and releasing one’s grievances and negative emotions. It’s a learning, healing, and empowering process that she believes is essential to reclaiming one’s personal power. Indeed, Dewar structures her book around the concept of “POWER,” using the word as an organizing acronym to share anecdotes from her coaching practice and present self-examination activities. The topics are “The Price You Pay,” examining how much energy it takes not to forgive a bad boss; “Own Your Story,” about transforming the impact of a bad boss’s actions; “Widen Your View,” which asks readers to acknowledge that they’re only seeing a portion of their bosses’ worlds; “Embrace Human Frailty,” which urges readers to give themselves and others the benefit of the doubt; and, of course, “Release Your Baggage.” The author concludes the book by touching on when to share new insights with your boss, when to leave a company, and the value of applying these principles to other types of relationships. Overall, Dewar makes a compelling, passionate case that “We owe it to ourselves to explore the practical role that forgiveness can play in our own power and our enjoyment of work.” She addresses this challenge in a highly relatable way, admitting that she is a “recovering festerer” herself. Although she admits there are some “truly evil” bosses out there—and that dealing with them falls outside of the scope of this work—her overall advice to look inward will greatly benefit readers in most work/life situations.

Inspiring tips for rewiring the self.