Hello everyone,
Today, I will share with you some tips on how to manage your bosses successfully.
This will be a short article because I am certain you would like me to jump right into the topic as I don’t need to convince you as to why this is important for your career growth.
Now, I am not going to teach you how to curry favour through insincere or excessive flattery and praise. That is something I frown upon although I know its a strategy that’s widely used. The problem with this approach is that everyone around you will see through it and make things uncomfortable for you. Its not sustainable in the long run, especially when there is a change of leadership.
“…the expression managing your boss, does not refer to political manoeuvring or apple polishing. Rather, the term means the process of consciously working with her or him to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss and your company”.
Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb 1980
So, lets get right into it. I am going to ask you to do something rather unusual. I want you to ask your boss these 3 questions. The answers you get will help you manage your relationship with your boss much better.
What are your major objectives right now within the organisation? How can I support them?
Their answer will give you an insight into the challenges they need to overcome. You will get an opportunity to assess the challenges against your own strength and suggest where you can pitch in to help them. Your boss will appreciate you very much for that. What if you can’t help them? Its fine, don’t fret. You have given them an insight into your helpful mindset and they will approach you the next time they need help with something.
How do you prefer to communicate with the people you manage?
Relationships are built on proper and correct communication. Everyone has their own style. Rather than relying on guesswork, get to know the answer upfront. Some bosses prefer face to face meetings, some prefer being updated regularly on projects whilst some others may prefer to be updated only if there is a decision to be made. The list can go on. So, it makes your life easier if you know all this upfront.
What do you expect from the people reporting to you?
The answer will provide you with clarity and the way ahead in terms of how the work relationship will pan out. This is where you have a decision to make. If the expectations are unreasonable and beyond you, you must use this opportunity to seek help and guidance. If the expectations are well within your ability to deliver, use that as an opportunity to assess how you can over-deliver and exceed expectations. And that is a great thing for your career growth.
Final thoughts
Whether you like it or not, your boss has significant influence on your career trajectory. Get to know them right at the outset by asking the right questions and working towards meeting their expectations. However, no matter how good your relationship is, you will need to put in the hard work, be consistent and be focused on producing results.
That’s all from me today, If you found this useful, do consider sharing it with others who might need to hear this too.
About me
My name is Jayaraj, I am a C-level business leader with over 30 years of experience in the aviation business. I am very passionate about teaching and guiding young executives to grow in their careers by sharing with them unique and practical insights. Whilst education and training is essential, I believe that sharing my life experiences will help middle management successfully transition into top management.
Completely agreed sir.
Spot on, I would like to share a perspective of mine. [In general]
"The lack of awareness on current objectives is real gap between boss and his team member". Lack of awareness is definitely due to lack of communication and building relationship.
This can also be one of the reason why employee could fall in comfort Zone (no direction).
"What to do" is always a first step that most of the employees lack, this bind them to routine work. (Top down communication also makes employees feel responsible and involved, it can trigger an encouragement and motivation for an team member to actively participate).
Thank you Sir.