Managing Powerful People (aka Your Boss!)

Mind Tools Newsletter 61 - 14th November 2006 This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received it because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just click the links at the bottom of this email.

Contents: What's New Managing Powerful People Mind Tools Store A Final Note

How often do you blame your boss when you get frustrated at work? Why doesn't he/she give you more notice of new projects? Why doesn't he/she give you more time? Or less work? Or more support? Or less interference?

An old colleague and friend of mine, who recently left the corporate world to work as a freelancer, commented that managing his boss was the most important skill he'd never learned.

Personally, I think he’s in for a shock sometime soon, because, in my experience, he’ll find his new clients at least as demanding as any boss he has ever had!

Bosses (and clients too) have power to control various aspects of the work you do and the environment you work in. And they can have a serious impact (negative or positive) on the quality of life you experience in your workplace.

By learning to manage your boss, you can take back some of the control over the situation, and so try to ensure a good working environment for yourself. This week’s article "Five Strategies for Managing Powerful People" focuses on this very issue, and offers practical strategies for managing the relationship with your boss. The article is excerpted from an article published last month at the Career Excellence Club at Mind Tools.

What’s New

New at the Mind Tools site in the last two weeks, we have articles on Finding Direction in Your Career, and on the project management technique of Using Work Breakdown Structures.

In our members' area (the Career Excellence Club), we have new articles, members events and discussions each weekday.

Most recently members have been discussing articles on Giving and Receiving Feedback, Handling Discrimination in the Workplace, and Delivering Great Presentations. Our “Bite Sized Training” lesson last week, led by Dianna Podmoroff focused on How To Avoid Decision Making Paralysis. And in our ever popular coaching clinic, Sharon Juden discussed the seemingly perennial issue of "Why Can't I Ever Say No?" with insightful and thought-provoking exercises.

Find out more about the Career Excellence Club by clicking here.

In the meantime, enjoy today’s article, and enjoy finding new strategies to "manage" your boss!

James

James Manktelow
MindTools.com
Mind Tools – Essential skills for an excellent career!

To find out about new tools on the Mind Tools site the moment they’re uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed), or here to find out more about RSS.

New Article:

Five Strategies for Working With Powerful People

Excerpted from “Working With Powerful People – 10 Strategies for Managing Your Relationships", a Premium Members’ article at the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club.

Are your coffee breaks strictly timed at 15 minutes when your colleagues seem to stay out for 20 or 25 minutes? Is your cubicle the one right next to the washroom where George from Shipping visits at 10:00am every morning like clockwork? Does your boss get a pained look on her face when you talk about career development? Or maybe you are having difficulty getting your ideas heard, or you’re not being taken seriously?

If you see yourself in these types of unfortunate work circumstances, the chances are that you need to work on your relationship with your boss.

People in positions of power and authority can make or break your career. Your boss is the gatekeeper to many of the things you want. He or she controls items as significant as work assignments, promotions, and increases in compensation.

However, bosses also have the power to influence the little things in the workplace that have a great impact on your everyday satisfaction. Things like your coffee breaks, your workstation assignments, your parking spot, and all the many other things that make work an enjoyable - or miserable - experience.

"Managing" Your Boss - A Key Skill

Clearly, knowing how to work with powerful people is a critical work skill. Just as you manage your time and your other resources, you also need to know how to “manage” your boss and other powerful people in your life.

This is where you as the subordinate shoulder much of the responsibility. You have to actively build the relationship - or else it has the potential to run right over you. Your boss’ motives may or may not be aligned with what you want to get out of your career. When you’re blessed with a naturally supportive and motivating boss, then building this relationship is not so much an effort as it is a joy. On the other hand, when you encounter a difficult boss (and you eventually will!) you need to develop some key skills for mitigating the negative effects and turning the relationship around.

Effective management of powerful people centers on you and your ability to be an effective subordinate. When you shift the burden of responsibility onto yourself, then you gain the sense of control you need to make the relationship work. This starts with recognizing that although you are subordinate, you can, and must, take action.

To start proactively managing the relationships you have with powerful people, consider the following techniques and strategies.

5 Strategies for Working With Powerful People

1. Accept that your boss is your boss
The first step in managing the relationship is to accept it. Failing to accept this is a problem that many ambitious people have, particularly if the boss is younger or comes from a traditionally disadvantaged group.

Your boss has the power and authority to direct your work. This is what you agreed to when you accepted your job, and it's why you get your paycheck.

Regardless of who the person in power is, you have to deal with him or her and make the best of the situation, so you need to get over any problems you have. So leave your ego and “attitude” at the door – even if you think you should have been the boss, you’re not!

2. Allow your boss to make mistakes.
People with power are not perfect, but neither are you. When you expect too much from your boss, he or she can only disappoint you. Keep things in perspective!

3. Understand your boss’s management style
There are many different, natural styles of management. Some are better than others in certain situations and for certain people. The problem is figuring out what works best when, and for whom. Recognize that your boss is struggling with that exact issue.

Adapt your needs and reactions to your boss’s style and understand your own preferred style as both a subordinate and in managing the relationship with your boss. Here are some prompts that will get you thinking about your boss’s preferred way of working with others:

• How does your boss like to receive information? (Memos? Email? Spoken directly? Some other way?)
  
  
• How does your boss set out his or her expectations?
  
  
• What are your boss’ specific expectations of you in terms of productivity, results, dress, demeanor, etc…?
  
  
• What type of communicator is your boss?
  
  
• How does he/she handle bad news or unexpected events?
  
  
• How does he/she react to his or her own boss?

By knowing what type of management style your boss uses, and understanding the type of style you prefer, you can start to uncover any sources of disagreement and dysfunction and hopefully do something about them.

Another tip is to examine what it is your boss appreciates in his subordinates (how do the “chosen ones” act?) and then try to develop some of those attributes.

4. Make your Boss Look Good
Everyone responds to praise. When you perform in ways that make your boss look good, he or she will get praise from people higher up in the organization.

• Solve problems effectively;
  
  
• If you’re asked to do something important that seems impossible, do your level best to think creatively;
  
  
• If you can’t solve a problem yourself, make sure you have a proposed solution when you go to your boss for help;
  
  
• Meet your deadlines, or if you’re going to miss them, make sure your boss knows well in advance and knows why you’re not able to meet them;
  
  
• Produce truly outstanding results;

The flip side of this is not to do anything that makes your boss look bad, and not to behave in such a way that he or she has to defend you. After all, if you do something your boss has to defend, other people in the organization will be wondering why he/she is not controlling what’s going on within his/her team.

5. Work Smart
Powerful people appreciate effectiveness and productivity. Learn to work in ways that are designed for optimum results.

• If you can avoid it, don't say “can’t” – powerful people are used to getting what they want so make sure you deliver, even if what you submit is a renegotiated deliverable.
  
  
• Respect their time – powerful people are in demand therefore you need to present your ideas quickly and succinctly;
  
  
• Learn to read between the lines – powerful people often don’t explain things fully – they expect you to “get” what they are saying. Find a source of information that will bring up to speed as needed;
  
  
• Deliver results – when you are given a directive, get it done;
  
  
• Work independently when appropriate;

Key Points

To have a successful career you need to deal effectively with powerful people. The most important powerful person in your career is your direct boss. With the right management, you can develop a great relationship with your boss and find the support and resources you need to reach your career goals. By managing the relationship, you recognize and appreciate your differing needs and then work to find ways to adapt. Start today to find ways of communicating with your boss, and begin to experience more work satisfaction and better results.

---

The Mind Tools Store:

• The Career Excellence Club: The Mind Tools members area, The Career Excellence Club brings together the Mind Tools Extended Toolkit, member-only discussion forums, Bite-Sized Training, the Coaching Clinic, MP3-based Book Insights and Expert Interviews, and much, much more. With the Career Excellence Club, make career excellence an everyday part of your life! More >>
  
  
• Make Time for Success: Learn 39 essential personal effectiveness techniques that help you bring your workload under control and maximize your productivity, so that you can make the most of the opportunities open to you. More >>
  
  
• How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You: Learn the 48 simple but essential skills you need to become a top leader in your industry. More >>
  
  
• The Mind Tools E-book: All of the tools on the Mind Tools website in one convenient, easily-downloadable, easily-printable PDF file. We have excluded advertising to enhance clarity and have formatted sections to be easy to read, print and use. More >>
  
  
• Personal Coaching from Career Excellence Professionals:Find career and life direction, bring your job under control, build self-confidence and put yourself on the path to long term success with a Mind Tools coach. Our coaches give you the focused personal coaching you need to make the very most of your career and life. More >>

---

A Final Note From James

So, some interesting strategies for managing your boss: Give them a try and let me know how you get on!

And if you’re a boss, it’s quite interesting to think about the strategies that your team employ too. Who in your team "manages" (OK, not quite the right word) you well? It’s far from a case of “bosses beware”! Team members who are good at managing the boss are often a pleasure to manage – you know what you’re getting, and when, and so on. Go on, leave this article around the office for your boss and your team, and expect it to make a positive difference!

In the next two weeks, look out for new articles at the Mind Tools site to help overcome procrastination, and achieve balance in your career and life.

Here’s wishing a great week, for you, your boss and your team!

James

James Manktelow

Click here to email
Mind Tools
Essential Skills for an Excellent Career!

Privacy Policy:
Mind Tools will treat your email address with complete respect and will not circulate it to any third party.

To unsubscribe, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email we sent you.

IIf you are not already a member and you would like to subscribe, please visit the mindtools.com site and subscribe using the form on the right hand side bar.

© Mind Tools Ltd, 2006.
If you have enjoyed this issue, please feel free to email it on to your friends and co-workers. If you think they would benefit from the skills we teach, please pass this newsletter on!

Also, you are very welcome to post this issue of the newsletter to your own web site. If you do, you must leave it completely intact, include copyright information, and include both the URL of the mindtools site (http://www.mindtools.com) and the subscription email address for the newsletter (http://www.mindtools.com/subscribe.htm).

---

Where to go from here: