More bad news: It's highly unlikely that a manager who starts out bad will improve, Glen says. So if you're stuck with a bad boss and don't want to leave your job, what do you do? Here are some tactics that have enabled IT folks to survive despite a monster manager.

Focus on the work

One survival strategy is to maintain an unwavering focus on the work that needs to be done rather than letting your energy be drawn into the vortex of a toxic personality. That's the tack McQuiston took. "It was absolutely uncomfortable, but my overarching principle was to keep my motivation pure," he says. "We had our work cut out for us, and the more I focused on that, the fewer cycles I had to get involved in gossip. When people start going with that negative energy, it goes the wrong way."

As he focused on the work, McQuiston soon found the group looking to him for leadership, and when his boss was given six months to find another position, McQuiston was asked to lead the system conversion.

Hunker down