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The Bottom Line
Pub. Monthly - ISSN 1552-9630 - Vol. 7, Iss. 9 30 Sep. 2009

In this issue:

Food for Thought

For Career Success: Manage Your Manager

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Food for Thought

"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Greetings!

We've all heard it said that "to succeed in a job, you need to learn how to manage your manager." But what does that really mean?

In this issue of The Bottom Line, we'll take a look at 10 things you can do to manage your boss and stack the deck in your favor for job and career success.

Best,

Peter


  • For Career Success: Manage Your Manager
  • Ever heard the expression: "to succeed in your job you must learn to manage your boss?" In my experience, it's very true - making sure that you help your boss achieve her goals without stepping on her toes is generally a condition sine qua non for success in any position.

    But what do we mean when we talk about "managing one's boss?" 10 actions in particular come to mind:

    1. Provide your boss with what she needs to make a decision: context; a summary of relevant facts; an assessment of risk; a description of past experience, precedents or benchmarks; and a measurement or description of "expected return," particularly with respect to meeting her organizational goals. Take into account the boss' decision making style and culture.
    2. Be selective in asking for your boss' opinion, and be clear on what responsibilities and deliverables she has delegated to you.
    3. In approaching your boss with problems, bring solutions and/or ideas to the table with you.
    4. Deliver on your promises or renegotiate them in a timely manner (defined as early enough to avoid inconveniencing or "harming" your boss). Make sure that you deliver on the "implied promise of producing quality work without major or minor errors that violate trust.
    5. Adapt to your boss' style and address her values.
    6. Find out your manager's pet peeves and hot buttons and avoid them!
    7. Network and increase your visibility in the organization; it will help you to do your job and make it easier for your boss to defend your interests in performance reviews and promotion discussions.
    8. Solicit feedback and "feedforward" (advice on how to "do" or "be" better in the future) on a regular basis.
    9. Don't neglect managing your own reports; don't tempt others to go over your head to solve nagging problems with your own staff.
    10. Know when it's time to leave!

    Follow these 10 pieces of advice and you will have laid the ground work for on-the-job success.

    For more ideas on managing your boss, take a look at the following articles:

    Managing All Types of Bosses

    10 Rules to Manage Your Boss

    Managing Your Manager: Addressing Your Important Issues

  • Want to know more?
  • Interested in finding out more about what may become possible for you through coaching? Feel free to call me at 415-285- 0826 to set up a free 30 minute consultation by phone or SKYPE.

    And, as always, I very much appreciate any feedback you would like to give as to how I can make this newsletter more useful to you.

    Please pass on this e-zine to your friends and associates! Just keep the entire issue intact and unaltered.

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