Managing your boss
Unlike a friend, a boss
is not someone you can choose. You normally have to accept the person
whom you are supposed to report to. Whether you like it or not! It is
therefore, important that you get off to a good start in your
relationship with your boss. A good boss-subordinate relationship could
help you progress in your career as your boss would recommend raises and
promotions. On the other hand, a strained relationship could make life
miserable for you at work and limit any opportunities for career
advancement.
How does one go about
managing a boss? To some people it may come naturally, while for others
they may have to rack their brains to figure out what to do and yet feel
they end up saying and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time!
In this article, we will
attempt to offer some guidelines that could help you build a positive
relationship with your boss and be beneficial to your career.
Do your job well with a non-threatening work
style
The starting point is obvious and basic- do your job well. Boss
management can help only if you are making a good effort at your work.
Otherwise it will become a case of covering up your inefficiencies and
weaknesses at work behind behavioral niceties which will not have a
chance to succeed as they will only be superficial.
And in addition to this,
an extremely important point- adopt a non threatening work style.
Your great initiative at work will get a tremendous setback if your boss
finds you too aggressive or abrasive and begins to feel insecure. Your
work style should not communicate to your boss in any way that you
believe that you know more than him/her, or that you do not respect
his/her superiority and authority.
Accept responsibilities,
take initiative, and prepare for meetings. Make yourself indispensable
to your boss without threatening him/her. Let him/her rely on you for
assistance in gathering information or any other area where you appear
to be relatively more competent, but with the feeling that you are a
great help and not a threat.
A boss has power that is
derived from two sources- the first being the power/authority that comes
along with the position or designation. The second is to do with the
individual's personality traits and interaction with others in the
organization. You have to ensure that you give your boss due respect on
both counts.
Remember then, be a smart and diligent worker and keep your boss feeling
secure!
Understand your boss' working style and work
within it
To manage your boss, it would be very useful to find out different
aspects of your boss' working style. What makes your boss tick? You
could use the following checklist to help you get to know your boss
better.
* What are his/her goals?
* What does he/she expect from you?
* Does he/she have any idiosyncrasies e.g. getting the credit for all
work done?
* What is he/she particular about e.g. punctuality?
* What irritates him/her?
* When is your boss most approachable?
Getting answers to these questions will help you adapt to your boss'
working style and reduce conflict.
You could try and
brand your boss into a specific personality type depending on his/her
style of working. This could give you clues on how to work smarter with
that type of a boss.
A few boss types you could consider are:
The Feudal Lord
This type of a boss likes to have a large group of supporters,
sycophants and yes men. He/she invariably dislikes any opposition to
his/her thoughts, ideas and way of doing things. If you agree, you are
part of the coterie, otherwise you are an irritant.
What you could do:
Be careful not to let the quality of your work suffer in your desire to
be "accepted".
The Nit-Pick
Here, the boss has too much of an eye for detail and ends up nit-picking
on and on. Use this format, left align that, reduce this by 5mm, stroke
your t's horizontally etc.
What you could do:
Try and toe the line as much as you can without losing sight of the
overall picture of the job at hand.
The Slime
This boss type is as the name suggests- not clean and straightforward,
but a great manipulator who could stab you in the back. This boss will
not hesitate to pass the blame on to you if anything goes wrong. Neither
will you get the credit for a good job done. This boss will spend more
time in achieving personal gains.
What you could do:
Watch out, be cautious. Don't be naive. You may learn this after a
couple of set-backs. Nevertheless, you need to get along with this boss
type as well. Just organize yourself better and learn to "cover up" with
well documented facts in case of a problem.
The Slog
Here, it's work, work and more work. This boss type is a confirmed
workaholic. He may not pay attention to details but expects a lot of
work to be done.
What you could do:
Work hard too. Meet deadlines. It's a lot better than dealing with the
Slime!
Adopt the problem solving approach at work
The next point in boss management relates to handling problems at work.
Do not panic when confronted with a crisis. Do not just oppose and
disagree with your boss' ideas. Come up with a solution. And justify it
with a well thought out plan. This approach could also help in reducing
unpleasant scenes and conflicts with your boss. Work could also proceed
more smoothly.
Communicate and keep your boss informed
This is essential in ensuring that work gets done on time and your boss
is on top of it all in terms of information. The last thing you need is
a situation where your boss' boss enquires about the status of a project
and your boss was not updated by you, on the current position. Your boss
would get caught on the wrong foot and could then pile on to you for not
having provided all the information. To avoid these situations, keep
your boss updated regularly on the status of work in the pipeline. This
will make him/her look good and will let you breathe easy!
Also clarify priorities and deadlines regularly to ensure that you are
working on the right item at a particular time. This will be very
helpful in situations where priorities shift over time.
Be honest and do not compromise on ethics
It always pays to speak the truth. Ask for help where you need it. Admit
your mistakes. Give credit where it is due. This will make your boss
trust you. He/she will know that you can be relied on to tell the truth
in the case of mud-slinging conflicts across departments. Your strength
will be that you tell the truth whatever the situation and not just to
take the credit or avoid the flak.
Do not compromise on ethics. Never sabotage work to spite your boss.
Do not condemn your boss to others
This is something you really have to watch out for as it is very common
to crib about your boss to your colleagues. It often makes you feel
better to have someone to complain to, who could agree with you and
confirm your negative emotions about your boss. Avoid using this as a
way of getting friendly with your colleagues or a way of joining one of
the power camps in the organization.
Resist the temptation to bad mouth your boss. Try to grin and bear it if
you are stuck with a difficult boss till you find a workable solution.
Going to the Human Resources department and complaining will not help.
It is a misconception that the Human resources department will sort out
such problems at work. They are concerned primarily with the needs of
the organization as a whole and not such issues related to specific
individual problems. A move such as complaining to HR could probably get
back to your boss and will only make matters worse.
Be flexible and not rigid in your style
Let your work style be compromising and flexible. Do not be too rigid as
this could put off your boss and communicate that you are too adamant
and aggressive instead of being supportive and co-operative. Also, a
rigid style could give your boss the impression that you are too
competitive and this may make your boss feel insecure which is when
problems start!
Record dates and important instructions
To ensure that you stay on top of your job and avoid getting into
trouble when it's time to pass the blame, keep a record of dates and key
instructions relating to your work. It may sound like a repository of
unnecessary information, but it could help you a great extent in the
event of a crisis. Not to say that you should use this to malign your
boss, but keep yourself out of such a mess as much as possible.
If you try and follow
some of these guidelines, you could end up with a positive relationship
with your boss. Remember, the situation is not that bad. You as a
subordinate, are also very important to the boss!
And if you find yourself in a terribly hopeless and frustrating
relationship with your boss, despite your repeated attempts to improve
things- do not lose heart. It's not the end of the world! Just pack up
and move on!
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