Autocratic bosses are typically manipulative and mean-spirited. These bosses can even be verbally abusive, as many of these derive a sense of power, importance and satisfaction by publicly humiliating others.

Autocratic bosses tend to be demanding, hardnosed and violent. Statistics reveal that around 90 percent of us have worked for a tyrant / dictator at least once during our work life.

The number of bully bosses in today's workplace appears to be on the rise. Much of this can be attributed to the rampant restructurings, downsizings and performance pressure.

So, when these bosses feel powerless they enforce their power over others; they belittle others in the futile hope that it will make them appear bigger and better. In other words, as organizations get leaner, more and more bosses get meaner.

Below we provide you some tips to avoid power struggles with a bully and autocrat boss and succeed in spite of their nasty behavior. Please note, these do not work all the time or with all the bullies but they do work.

Be Assertive - Push back

Respond assertively as soon as someone bullies you. Most tyrants will start to push you gently and then gradually increase the pressure. Bullies most often respond best to being bullied so being assertive is the best approach. They might not like you, but they will respect you and chances are that they will stop being nasty.

Express Yourself - Use "I feel" statements

Using "I feel" statements makes it non-negotiable because that is the way you feel. Express yourself clearly and explicitly by using statements such as: "I feel annoyed when you yell or shout at me. You will find that I work better when I am spoken to nicely.”

Try Disarming with courtesy

You can just say politely: "I would be grateful if you did not shout." You can also try putting the problem back on your boss.

For example, if you are given an epithet such as "you're stupid" or "you're hopeless" you could respond with: "That's an interesting comment. I wonder why you felt obliged to make it." This puts the problem back on your boss.

You can even try the agreement technique "You could be right. However, my track record says I am good at x,y,z".

The fact that you have a track record attests to your intelligence and not your stupidity.

Deflect the negative

You could just make a comment such as "how disappointing". It means nothing but it does get the bully to think and avoid looking at yourself as a soft target.

Importance of body language

When you work with tyrants, ensure that your body language supports your comments. Keep your shoulders parallel with theirs and maintain eye contact. If the latter is difficult, look at a spot in the middle of their forehead because if you are more than a meter away they will think you are looking directly at them.

Collective Response

If the feeling of fear and oppression is being shared by your whole team or department because an autocrat is running it, then it may be ripe for you and your colleagues to write a memo to this autocrat boss and CC the HR Department on it. The memo should outline the specific behaviors that you all find unacceptable. It should be unemotional, to the point and factual.

A boss, no matter how tyrannical, is only successful through his or her people and every organization is cognizant of this fact. Sending a memo is the last resort and hopefully you will only have to do this once to get your voices heard.