Manage Your Boss To Get Ahead!
By: John McKee - [work]
Posted 06/27/05
In 2001, I started the consulting
and coaching practice, which became known as Business Success Coach.net. I'd
just finished working with a very large multinational firm owned by one of the
largest companies in the world. With 25 years as an executive in various
industries across the US and Canada; I'd managed startups and overseen layoffs
of thousands of people.
I had enough boardroom experience to be certain that many hassles
faced by management today can be prevented.
It's clear there are a number of common issues faced by business people across
totally unrelated industries and environments. This series was created to
provide some
perspective and guidance to executives as they negotiate their way up the
corporate ladder.
Choose your Boss Wisely
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The best Tip I can give anyone just entering business life is, choose your first
job based upon the boss and not on money or upward mobility prospects. How you
learn the ropes
in the early years will set you up for life. Once in, we all learn that Tony
Soprano, Miranda Priestly and Ebenezer Scrooge have a few things in common.
These fictional
characters, inhabiting the world of television, novels and films, are the
stereotype of a nightmare boss.
If any of them remind you of YOUR boss, you may be wondering what can be done to
'manage' her or him. As a business coach, I hear the issue frequently mentioned,
and it seems to be more prevalent each year. The relationship
with the boss is a big concern for both recent hires and for individuals who've
been with a company for a while. New hires are often surprised to learn that the
boss doesn't seem to care a lot about their career aspirations.
For many people who've worked for a company for a longer
term, these lofty expectations for how the boss should behave don't diminish
over time. The expectations are, in fact, a big part of job dissatisfaction. For
the more
experienced, the relationship with the boss is viewed from the point of view of
the individual's aspirations for professional growth through promotions,
increased
compensation, bonuses, and perks.
Reality Check
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so you want to learn how to 'manage the beast'. Can you? Should you? Who can
help you learn how to do it?
If you are thinking about getting a coach to help you develop a strategy to deal
with your boss, let me save you the time and money with some straightforward
advice: Yes - you can manage your boss. In fact you'll get farther ahead if you
learn how to use your boss' quirks to YOUR advantage.
Here are a 'Top 10' of Tips and Secrets I've seen used very effectively by
managers over the years. I put it together with the help of Barry Agnew, a very
good friend. Agnew is
one of the finest marketing and sales promotion guru's I've ever met. Anyone
seeking new ideas would be wise to talk to him. Email me for his contact info.
Working Smarter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John's Tip #1: Results = Rewards. There will be times it seems that form and
process are the most important things in your company and consequently to your
boss. They aren't.
Over thirty years, I don't recall a single person getting a monster bonus at
year's end or awesome promotion for following the company's process better than
the rest of us.
Over the long run, great rewards and promotions go to the one who gives great
results.
John's Tip #2 Face time works to your benefit. So your boss is incompetent; and
doesn't have a clue about the company, your job or even his own. Do you really
have to waste more
your time meeting with him (or her)? Yes,absolutely. And it's not a waste.
It's actually smart to spend time with your superior. Don't rely solely on email
or voicemail. Your boss probably receives too many electronic messages already.
And while it
seems like efficient time management to communicate through email or voicemail,
it does little good for your career if
(s)he doesn't know much about you beyond the role you perform.
Go out of your way to talk to the boss about your responsibilities and
accomplishments in person. Leave it to everyone else to fill up the boss'
in-boxes.
John's Tip #3: A good listener is hard to find. Recognize that all bosses expect
to be heard and then have their directions followed. So - Listen, listen,
listen. And
remember that you have two ears and one mouth for a good reason.
Don't be one of those misguided types who debates everything they're instructed
to do. After the first 1 or 2 times, it doesn't show anyone how smart you are.
It just becomes tiresome. If this is tough at times, keep in mind that someone
else in your company is ready and willing to listen to the boss. Better it's
you.
Your Boss Works Late?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John's Tip #4: Be there. If the boss is at work, it'll be much better for your
career if you are there as well. This isn't particularly convenient if the boss
has no personal
life, likes to work a lot of hours or thinks sleeping and vacations are
overrated.Nonetheless it's usually effective if you want to get ahead. Let the
boss know that you're there for the good, the bad and the ugly. (S)he'll see
that you are committed to supporting him or her and the company. The boss will
also recognize those who are never there as
well. You want to be seen as the person who can always be counted on. That leads
me to:
John's Tip #5: Just fix it. Bosses like and reward people who tell them after
the fact that a potential problem was identified and fixed before it became an
issue needing them to get involved. When we behave this way, bosses feel
confident that they have the right managers in place (and having such great
staff makes the bosses look real smart!).
Bosses usually recognize and value initiative and resourcefulness - so go ahead,
be confident in your own skills and resolve the situation on your own, then tell
your boss all about your success.
Honesty Always? Oh Honestly!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John's Tip #6: Never make the boss nervous. Many execs practice the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But this truth banner can be carried too
far. In
most cases, it's wrong to think that every time things appear to be heading
south (or even when the mere possibility of such thing is on the horizon), you
must
brief the boss. While it may be a good tactic if the boss
is a committed micro manager, usually this almost- compulsive adherence to full
disclosure will just cause
bosses to start seeing you as the person who regularly makes him or her reach
for a bottle of purple pills. Remember Pavlov's dog. Make sure the boss doesn't
associate you with bad news.
John's Tip #7: Never delegate up. However you got your job; someone thought you
were capable of it. Let them keep thinking it. Understand that people in the
executive suite
usually aren't impressed by anybody who frequently runs upstairs asking for
advice doing their job. Busy bosses simply do not have time to coddle their
staff or to hand
holding along every step. If it looks like you can't do the job without
constantly going to your superior for guidance, it will become pretty clear to
her or him that the company
can do things faster (and better) without you. Not a good thing for anyone
seeking entry into that executive suite.
Look Right. And Look the Right Way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John's Tip #8 Your workplace isn't a democracy. If you haven't figured it out
already, the North American business
model is hierarchal. That means that the person above you doesn't need to
consult or even discuss issues with you if
(s)he chooses not to. Your voice or vote will not always count. Just remember:
its your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the boss wants
and give it(which leads us to:)
John's Tip #9: Look up not down. If you look after your boss's needs before
those of your own team, you increase your chances of getting your team looked
after more fully.
Your boss will recognize that you work hard to make him / her look good; and
will be more likely to provide you with the resources you and your team need to
do the job better.
John's Tip #10: Image is everything. Well, not everything but it's a really
important thing. Your image or presence has a great impact in your professional
life. Make certain
you look appropriate for the role you want to have and not just your current
one. Do the best you can with what you have. Be a confident communicator,
particularly in person
and when making presentations. The person with 'presence' is more likely to be
regarded as a future leader than another who's more introverted.
There you have them. Use these Tips to your advantage. And if you don't agree
with any of these Tips, always remember
- only you should decide what's right for your situation before jumping in. This
is your life.
John McKee is a business success coach providing advice by phone. He's
personally hired, promoted, and fired literally thousands of people and provides
first-hand advice by phone.
Take a free 7 part mini coaching session by signing up at his website.
Visit Site: career
promotion management success men women coaching JohnMMcKee
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