Manage your manager

Whether your boss is a tiger or a real sweetheart knowing how to manage them is a career saver. When you learn to understand how your boss operates, your life becomes easier. Here’s some thoughts on how to do this.

UNDERSTAND THEIR WORKING STYLE: To work well with your manager, you need to be on the same page with them. Know how your boss handles pressure, or behaves when their head is on the block. That’s when he or she’s most unforgiving. If you know they don’t cope well in certain circumstances, offer to help. Not all may be willing to accept help; offer it anyway. When the boss is moody or touchy or grouchy, try not to aggravate them.

DON'T TRY TO CHANGE HIM OR HER: It is tempting to try changing the way your boss works; such as tidying the desk of someone who prefers ‘organised’ chaos!. Be familiar with their management style, personal preferences, habits, and agendas so that you don’t get on their wrong side. Your number one priority is to support them by doing your job well, showing them respect and not undermining them. Develop an effective working relationship is what matters. So don’t get caught in trying to fix the little things that they do that bothers you but not them.

DON'T DELEGATE UP: When you do this you’re saying you can’t do the task- instead ask for guidance. If you’re too busy to do it, ask for more time . Don’t simply toss it up to the boss. Your job is to deliver solutions. Build confidence in your ability to do the job and to job when it should be done, not when you are ready. And if you’re the manager refuse to take it over even if it’ll be quicker to do it yourself than to wait much longer for someone else to do it.

MAKE THEM SHINE: This is easy to do when the boss is generally a fairly reasonable person. And if they are chronically hostile, guess what? the professional response is to still support them. Don’t upstage them bosses do not like to play second fiddle especially if their boss is around. What is your boss really good at? Help them become even better. Even better, if you have a strength that makes up for a weakness of theirs, roll it into action.

DON'T BE HIGH MAINTENANCE: The high maintenance person drains the manager’s energy and takes more than their fare share of his or her time. They often create so many problems and distractions for the boss to deal with such. Examples of such behaviour is when you take issue with too many of the boss’ decisions or are clueless about the politics surrounding an issue. A big ‘no no’ is going behind the boss back to further your own personal agenda. That you might not be able to live down so just don’t do it. Keep the boss informed but don’t go to them for every little decision.


Now take action: Identify one way you can support your manager better?