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Managing Your Boss
Posted:
8 February 2003
Many employees spend their days complaining about their difficult bosses. Like family, you can’t choose your boss so it is much better to spend the effort to learn how best to “manage” the boss you have.
From the perspective of your boss, you exist to assist him or her in the achievement of the overall goals. Your personal goals have to be subordinate to ensuring that your boss’s goals are met. Any employee that prioritizes their boss’s goals and helps him or her to look good as well soon becomes very valuable. The boss will learn to depend on you and so doing, will give you access to information and decision making criteria that you may not have otherwise.
There are some things you could do that would doom your relationship with your boss and make your work life unpleasant. These things include:
1. Direct criticism - while many bosses appreciate an employee who can express an honest viewpoint, honesty must be tempered with tact and diplomacy. A boss will never like to hear or even to hear implied “You are wrong.” The employee who would like to manage the relationship with the boss would take the time to express helpful ideas on how to fix a bad situation or decision rather than dwelling on just how bad the situation is.
2. Never expose the boss to surprises. It is the job of the subordinate to protect the boss against surprises – even pleasant ones. To be exposed to a surprise in the organization one is responsible for is humiliation, and usually public humiliation.
3. Never underrate the boss! The boss may look illiterate; he may look stupid – and looks are not always deceptive! But there is no risk at all in overrating a boss. The worst that can happen is for the boss to feel flattered. But if you underrate the boss he will make sure that your growth in the organization is hampered and, in an extreme case, he may ensure that you are out.
4. Do not throw blame on others. When you are responsible for something and that something is not done on time, be accountable, even if others were involved and slowed you down. Your boss does not want to hear complaints about others, he or she wants to hear when the task will be completed.
Things you should always strive to do:
1. Listen carefully. When your boss is telling you something, put your focus on what is being said and listen through to the end. Do not jump to your own conclusions. Listen for the meaning behind the words, not just to the words themselves. If there is underlying anxiety, attempt to do actions that will help to alleviate the anxiety.
2. Display consistent loyalty. A boss likes to feel that subordinates are “on his side” or part of his team. Loyalty is displayed by not sharing information that puts the boss in a bad light, championing his or her point of view or at least explaining it, even if you personally disagree. Never expose his weaknesses. Trust is built in this way and if your boss trusts you, you will find that your work life will be agreeable, and your boss may be more willing to support your own initiatives than he would otherwise.
3. Put your own ego under wraps. While you are working your way up, it is better to support the ego of the boss than to build your own ego. Egos can and do get in the way of building good work relationships and ultimately, it will be your boss who decides whether to promote you or to put you on the sidelines or in the cooler.
4. Try to understand the style and preferences of your boss. Each boss is a unique individual and has his or her own preferences in terms of communication style, frequency and form of communication, how much detail is required etc. When you need to communicate with the boss do so in his or her style rather than in your own. This will enhance the likelihood of being heard and understood and hopefully supported, by the boss.
5. If you are given a deadline for a task, and you find that the task cannot be completed on time, go to your boss earlier (a few days earlier if possible) than the deadline and indicate that the task will not be completed by the deadline and indicate when it will be done. No boss likes to discover at the last minute that something that is needed by him or her is not ready, especially if it is required for one of the boss’s tasks.
6. Bring solutions, not problems. If you encounter a problem, before you run to your boss for help, think the problem through and identify some possible solutions. Approach your boss with a summary of the problem, a brief explanation of the cause of the problem and some suggested solutions. At this point you are only asking for an opinion as to the best solution, not asking the boss, who has problems of his or her own, to generate solutions, especially as undoubtedly you are closer to the problem than the boss.
If you follow the tips outlined above, you will find that your relationship with your boss will be much smoother and your career will be facilitated. Of course, there are difficult bosses who will be difficult even if you do follow the principles above. If this is the case, your job of managing your boss may be more challenging. You will have to do some more reading about how to handle the various type of “problem” bosses. Do not get frustrated because after all, one day you will be the boss and your subordinates will have to worry about how to manage you!
Reference:
This article has been taken from the Career Coach, a CD for career minded individuals developed by HR FIRST International.
Article ID: 492
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Managing Your Boss 
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