MANAGING UPWARDS BY UNDERSTANDING THE DESIGN OF YOUR BOSS

Managing Upwards: Let’s be clear: We’re not talking about “crawling”. But we are talking about making the most of the realities of the workplace.

One of the duties of your boss is to identify and maximize the talents of employees. But, with the many duties on their hands, it can sometimes be difficult for them to spot these individuals. So, your job is to help them out by shining a subtle light on the many things you can accomplish for your boss and the organization as a whole.

PRE-TEST: DO YOU KNOW YOUR BOSS

·        How does your boss set out his or her expectations of you in terms of productivity, results, dress, demeanour, and so on?

·        How does your boss like to receive information (for example, paper memos, email, or face to face)? Are there different situations where he or she has particular preferences?

·        How does your boss communicate disappointment?

·        How does your boss give out praise?

·        Does your boss like information delivered with lots of detail, or big-picture summary?

·        Does he/she prefer things “by-the-book,” or is there a lot of room for adaptation and innovation?

·        Does your boss micromanage, or provide too few directions?

·        How does your boss make decisions? (For example, quickly, on reflection, or with input from everyone on the team?)

·        How does he/she react to his or her own boss?

·        How does your boss handle bad news or unexpected events?

·        In light of your answers to the previous questions, how would you now “manage your boss upwards”?

·        What areas of friction did you identify? What will you do to minimize that friction?

·        Describe a recent situation in which you made your boss look good, or made it easy for him or her to manage you. What specific actions did you take to help him or her out that you might be able to repeat in the future?

·        Describe a situation in which you missed an opportunity to make your boss look good. What actions could you have taken to help him or her out that you can use in the future?

·        What are two of your boss’s managerial weaknesses?

·        In what ways can you compensate for your boss’s managerial weaknesses in order to help him or her out?