8 tips for handling a narcissistic boss

Have you ever tried talking to your manager about a project, only to have her cut you off to tell you about the award she won years ago? Do meetings feel like a one-man show starring your boss? Does she constantly try to one-up you and your colleagues?

If so, you've probably got a narcissist on your hands - and they're not the easiest people the work with.

"Working for a narcissistic boss is like riding a wild rollercoaster while being blindfolded," says Teri Hockett, CEO of What's For Work?, a career site for women. "You can be the golden child one moment and the next you are receiving all the blame."

A true narcissist, she says, has no concept of taking responsibility for anything negative, and will constantly "undercut anyone who challenges or does not respond to them in the manner that they deem deserving."

Deborah Shane, a career expert and author of "Career Transition", concurs. "Working for a narcissist can be difficult because they typically make things about them. Just about everything and everyone they engage and interact with needs to make them look good and feel good."

She says their egos also get in the way of teamwork, culture, and camaraderie. "Narcissists can fracture and divide a workplace, rather than unify and strengthen it."

Think you might be working for a narcissistic boss? Here are seven tips for dealing with them: