No Script, No Plan, No Clue: Thriving Under an Unpredictable Leader

When leadership feels more like a one-man improv show—and you're just trying to keep up with the script.

Have you ever worked for a boss who treats leadership like an improv show where they’re the only one on stage? One day, you’re the golden child. The next, you’re incompetent—for following the exact directive they passionately demanded 24 hours ago. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many employees have navigated the exhausting reality of working under a leader who believes they are accessible, visionary, and well-liked—when, in reality, they lead with fear, manipulation, and ever-changing whims.

The Unstable Leadership Playbook

Yesterday, this was the priority...Today, it never existed.

This type of boss follows a distinct pattern:

• Erratic Decision-Making: Strategies shift faster than a social media algorithm, and employees are left scrambling to adapt. Today’s top priority is tomorrow’s “worst idea ever.” Once, my team spent an entire week preparing a detailed project proposal—only to have our boss dismiss it in a meeting as "completely off-track." The kicker? We had followed their original

  outline word-for-word and kept them informed as we were building it.
  

• Emotional Management: Their mood dictates the entire office climate. If they’re having a good day, you might receive unwarranted praise. If they’re having a bad day, even the coffee machine is somehow incompetent. One particularly memorable Monday, my boss declared they were "revamping the entire company vision." By Wednesday, they had forgotten about it entirely, and by Friday, they were furious that no one had implemented it.  Rinse and repeat for the following week.
  

• Gaslighting: They swear they never said something—despite email proof—or insist you misunderstood their crystal-clear, contradictory instructions. I once received a furious email asking why I hadn’t done a task I had, in fact, completed. I sent back a screenshot of their own email approving my work. The response? "Well, that’s not what I meant."
  

• Fear-Based Control: They thrive on keeping employees uncertain, ensuring no one feels safe enough to push back. Meetings feel less like collaborative discussions and more like high-stakes courtroom dramas where you’re expected to defend yourself against charges you didn’t know existed.
  

• The CEO Card: Some leaders inspire with wisdom. Others with vision. And then there are the ones who inspire office-wide eye rolls. One of my past bosses had a go-to phrase: "As a reminder, I’m the CEO, and while I don’t do it often, sometimes I have to pull rank." He said this so often we debated making it our official company slogan. He was convinced this line made him sound reasonable—like a reluctant monarch who only seized control when absolutely necessary—when in reality, it was just a prelude to whatever arbitrary decision he’d already made.  Another classic? "I don’t want data. I’m the CEO, and my gut is never wrong. Numbers can be." That’s right—he had achieved the rare ability to overpower math with sheer self-confidence. If he had woken up one morning and declared that the Grand Canyon wasn’t that grand after all and should henceforth be called "Middle-of-the-Road Ditch," by lunchtime, we'd be updating Wikipedia and drafting press releases.

  
  

  

  Some voids take millions of years to form. Others take just one executive decision.

The irony? These leaders often detest other public figures who behave exactly like them. They shake their heads at authority figures who act on impulse, yet they govern their own workplace with the same erratic energy. The lack of self-awareness is almost impressive.

The Mental Gymnastics Required to Survive

If you’ve worked under this kind of leadership, you’ve likely developed an impressive set of coping skills:

• Strategic Silence: Mastering the art of saying just enough to stay off their radar—but not enough to attract attention.

• The Nod-and-Pivot: Agreeing enthusiastically while secretly preparing alternate PowerPoint slides or Excel sheets that present the same numbers in different ways, just in case today’s preferred version of reality has shifted.

• Survival-Level Emotional Regulation: Learning to predict office mood swings better than a seasoned meteorologist—except instead of rain and sunshine, it’s passive-aggressive emails and last-minute “urgent” meetings. I once had a boss who would explode over minor issues and then, in the coming days, pretend it never happened—except for the mysterious guilt gifts that would quietly arrive in the mail. Lavish fruit boxes, inexplicable housewares, gourmet nuts, the list is long. It was like watching a leadership crisis unfold through a bizarre subscription box service. Nothing says "Let’s never speak of this again" quite like a collection of expensive yet completely useless trinkets.

  

  When your boss’s leadership style is unpredictable, but their guilt gifts are right on schedule.

Finding Your Next Move: Breaking Free from the Chaos

If you’re working under a boss like this, let’s be clear: You are not imagining things, and you’re definitely not alone. Many employees are quietly enduring the same workplace whiplash. It’s not a failure on your part—it’s a reflection of a leader who mistakes unpredictability for innovation and fear for respect.

But here’s the good news: You don’t have to stay stuck.

Tips for Navigating the Chaos:

1. Document Everything. Keep a record of emails, directives, and shifting priorities. If confusion arises, having receipts will be your best defense.

2. Find Allies. Trusted colleagues can be a lifeline in an unpredictable environment. Sharing observations can provide much-needed validation.

3. Manage Up. Learn what triggers your boss’s volatility and try to anticipate their shifting moods and expectations.

Strategizing Your Exit:

• Leverage Your Skills. If you’ve learned to manage uncertainty, adapt quickly, and communicate effectively under stress—you’ve built valuable leadership skills.

• Network Proactively. Start connecting with others in your industry. Sometimes, the best opportunities come through relationships, not job postings.

• Recognize Your Worth. You deserve a workplace where leadership means guidance, not chaos. The fact that you’ve survived under such conditions means you’re more capable than you think.
  

Good leadership does exist. There are workplaces where direction is clear, communication is honest, and employees don’t have to decode their boss’s emotional state before sending an email. If you’re in a situation where power is wielded over, rather than shared, know this: You deserve better.

The best leaders don’t improvise chaos—they create clarity. Time to find a stage where everyone gets a script.

---

What’s the wildest leadership style you’ve experienced?

• Constantly changing direction
• Making decisions based on “gut”
• Leading by fear and control
• Acting like the smartest person in every room

---

TLDR: Some bosses treat leadership like an improv show—constantly changing directions, ignoring data, and making decisions based on gut feelings rather than logic. These erratic leaders thrive on uncertainty, gaslighting, and fear-based control, often believing they are visionary while causing chaos. Employees working under them develop survival skills like strategic silence, emotional regulation, and the ability to pivot at a moment’s notice.

If you’re stuck in this situation, you’re not alone, and it’s not your fault. Keep records, find support among colleagues, and learn to manage up. Most importantly, recognize your worth and plan your exit—because great leadership exists, and you deserve better.