The idea of managing your boss can seem paradoxical; after all, they are supposed to be managing you. Right? Not really. Managing is a two-way street that means you take ownership of providing your boss with the necessary information while understanding what is important to help them succeed.
Having a good working relationship with your boss is the ideal situation, one that encourages communication and growth. Yet most people tend to put the burden of managing the relationship solely on the boss.
Managing your boss is not manipulation or playing office politics where the focus is self-serving; rather, it is developing awareness of how to work more effectively. The focus is on your boss instead of you.
The No. 1 rule in managing any type of working relationship starts with knowing how to manage yourself. Without knowing what drives you to succeed in your career, the angst, along with the joy, are apt to make you work in a reactionary mode instead of maintaining self-control.
Most likely you’ll experience good and bad bosses throughout your career, and knowing how to manage them will help you both in the long run. When employees have problems with their boss relationships, there are usually three areas that create most of the difficulties: stress, feelings and time. Knowing how these three areas impact your relationship with your boss is a huge step in avoiding negative interactions.
Emotions are like rollercoasters; they can be encouraging or demoralizing all in the same day, and if you’re not careful, they can cloud your desire to understand. The key is developing awareness in how your feelings impact communication with your boss.
Take the emotion of fear in managing your boss’s reactions. Making mistakes and asking for help is a part of growth and if you fear the response from your boss, you may start avoiding communicating your real needs and unknowingly could send a “lack of confidence” message to them.
Stress is another barrier that keeps you from managing your boss effectively, especially if both of you are guilty of not communicating clearly on deadlines or discussing expectations. Stress leads to a joyless work environment and can dampen a good relationship.
Develop a broader perspective of how you create stress for yourself and what role your boss plays in contributing to it. What tasks can you delegate? Imagine what would happen if planning was a part of your discussion. You could help your boss by asking clarifying questions.
The way you manage time often adds to feelings of stress, resentment and fatigue that leads to unproductivity. In a work environment when your boss keeps asking you to do more with less, managing your time rests on your shoulders.
Examine your calendar for a month and pay attention to where your time goes, what days are busier than others? Block out time for catching up on reports and most of all keep your one-on-one meetings with your boss as a priority.
Managing time is often a personal style in which both of you might have different ways of getting things done, you being super organized and your boss more laid back. However, the goal is to work effectively together. Understanding your bosses’ expectations and style of managing time, the payoff will result in a better working relationship with less conflict.
What are your thoughts on managing your boss? How has it worked for you in resolving conflict?
