Manage Your Boss: How to build a great working relationship with your manager

Contents

How well do you manage your boss?

1 Communicating assertively in the workplace

2 Developing your influencing skills

3 Organizing your time

4 Delegating upwards

5 Surviving personality clashes

6 Working for someone younger than you

7 Working with mentors

8 Making yourself promotable

Where to find more help

Index

How well do you manage your boss?

Answer the questions and work out your score, then read the guidance points.

How do you feel about asking your boss for help?

a. Confident that I’ll get what I want.

b. Confident that they’ll listen.

c. Worried that I’ll seem like a failure.

How do you feel about delegating upwards?

a. Not a problem!

b. Sometimes it’s unavoidable.

c. It’s not really my place.

How well do you and your boss communicate?

a. We clash fairly regularly!

b. Very well.

c. We don’t really ‘get’ each other.

How do you react to criticism?

a. I hate being criticized.

b. I welcome it – as long as it’s constructive!

c. I find it disheartening.

To what extent do you feel you can influence your boss’s actions?

a. Totally.

b. Sometimes.

c. Not at all.

How would you describe your network at work?

a. I make sure I know all the right people.

b. I have a network of trusted colleagues.

c. I don’t tend to network; I don’t have time for chatting.

To what extent do you feel that your boss is working with you to further your career?

a. Not much – it’s not in their interests to do so.

b. We develop my skills and build my experience together.

c. I didn’t know bosses were supposed to do that!

How well do you think your boss stands up for you in appraisals and salary reviews?

a. I make sure they know what I want them to say.

b. Well – it’s important for the team that I am happy!

c. Not as well as they could do if I spoke to them more about my ambitions.

How would you deal with a problem with a colleague?

a. Forcefully – they are being unprofessional.

b. I may mention it to my boss if nothing comes of my attempts.

c. I wouldn’t.

a = 1, b = 2 and c = 3

Now add up your scores.

9–13: You know what you want, but have quite an aggressive way of asking for it. See Chapter 1 for tips on communicating assertively, without being aggressive. If you have a problem with personality clashes, Chapter 5 should help you to reach a mutual understanding. You don’t lack self-belief, but it can come across as arrogance and actually damage, rather than help, your public image. See Chapter 8 for a positive approach to improving your chances of promotion.

14–21: You appear to have a balanced relationship with your boss, which is a great step towards a successful career. Of course, though, you will want to become a boss at some point: by following the advice in Chapters 1, 2 and 4 you will learn how to command more respect both at home and at work. Chapter 8 will then help you to hone your skills and progress in your career.

22–27: You know that you have the skills to progress in your career – the trouble is, nobody else does, least of all your boss. You should learn to communicate more effectively – Chapters 1 and 2 show you how, while Chapter 4 explains how you can delegate upwards. It might be useful to find yourself a mentor; Chapter 7 explains the best way of going about this.

1

Communicating assertively in the workplace

Your relationship with your boss is one of the most important working relationships you will have. A positive relationship will mean that you’re more likely to enjoy your work, stay motivated and progress in your career. A bad relationship, on the other hand, can destroy your confidence and damage your career. This book shows you how to manage your boss, so you can each get the best from this crucial relationship.

Part of the challenge of any job is that you have to deal with a wide range of people, some of whom may be easier to work with than others. If you’re naturally shy, or are unsettled by people who adopt a confrontational approach, you might find that you need some help when it comes to managing a difficult boss. Or maybe your approach is over-assertive, bordering on the aggressive and you clash with your boss as a result. Learning how to communicate assertively – but not aggressively – could be just what you need.

Assertiveness is an approach to communication that honours your choices as well as those of the person you are communicating with. It’s not about steamrollering your boss or colleague into submission – in fact, it’s about seeking and exchanging opinions, developing a full understanding of the issues and negotiating a win–win situation: one that everyone can benefit from.

By adopting an assertive stance towards your boss you are showing that you aren’t a shrinking violet, there to be bullied – and, equally, that you’re proactive without being aggressive