boss | Brad Englert Advisory
Close
Enter your
text here
Posts Tagged :

boss

Setting and Managing Expectations
 1024 536 Brad Englert Advisory

One of my new supervisors had a direct report peer of mine, Frank, who was the boss’s close and trusted confidant. They had worked together for 13 years, and I was new. Early on, my boss would clearly seek and often take the advice from Frank on many aspects of my department: budget, personnel, and policies. Frank would give advice that he didn’t have the expertise to give, and he started to create conflict where there wasn’t any.

 

Some of my boss’s emails giving me direction were clearly ghostwritten by Frank. Emails actually written by my supervisor, often via his smart phone, were short, all caps, with no subject line. Frank’s ghostly emails were confusing clouds of words, sent by my supervisor minutes after the two of them had met. (I would check Frank’s calendar to confirm the timing.) One email from my manager actually said, “I am not sending you this note because someone has whispered this in my ear.” This dysfunctional work dynamic was both hilarious and sad. I always wondered if I would have an opportunity to ghostwrite email orders from the boss to Frank, but that never happened.

 

In a one-on-one meeting with my boss, I drew on a sheet of paper three heads with headsets all connected with coiled wires. Below the first head, I wrote, “offensive coordinator.” Below the middle head, I wrote, “head coach.” And below the third head, I wrote, “defensive coordinator.” Then I said, “You are the head coach. Frank is your long-time, trusted offensive coordinator, and I am the new defensive coordinator. Your job is to hold Frank accountable for the offense (his department) and to hold me accountable for the defense (my department). When I get Frank’s orders through your headset, you no longer need me. So, I expect that from now on you will hold Frank accountable for his domain and me accountable for my domain.” My supervisor understood and thanked me for the “open and honest feedback.” I set expectations for what I was comfortable with, and my boss embraced the feedback.

 

You are responsible for setting clear expectations with your supervisor from the outset, especially if you find yourself in a dysfunctional relationship. You must stand up for yourself in a professional and respectful way.

Seek to Understand Your Boss’s Goals, Priorities, and Pressures
 1024 536 Brad Englert Advisory

It is a simple step, but many of us do not take the time to ask. If you don’t know or understand your manager’s goals, you may focus on the wrong tasks and waste valuable time. Simply ask: “What are your goals, priorities, and pressures?”

 

One supervisor I worked with was not forthcoming. He prided himself on being a chess master, “thinking many steps ahead.” He thought that keeping his moves to himself was a strength. This technique was actually a dirty trick used to disorient and destabilize others while he consolidated power. In The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene cites “law three: Conceal your intentions: Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions it will be too late.” If I and the boss’s other direct reports knew where he was heading, we would have been better positioned to help him achieve his goals. He declined, which was frustrating for me and all of his direct reports. Don’t be a boss who keeps your moves to yourself.

 

One of my best managers at the firm would challenge me with field promotions. I wanted to be a leader, and she wanted to train future leaders, so our goals aligned perfectly. She would give me opportunities for stretch roles where I could act like a manager before I was a manager. Later in my career, she asked me to serve in executive roles while I was still a senior manager. The brilliance of this approach is that I could try new roles knowing that when I encountered challenges, there was no harm, no foul. Stretch roles were treated as lower-risk learning experiences. The added benefit of this approach was to build confidence in myself and my supervisor that I would be successful at the next level. You don’t want to be promoted too early only to fail.

Authentic Business Relationships: 5 Tips for Working With Your Boss
 1024 576 Brad Englert Advisory

Building an authentic business relationship with your boss is a critical hard skill. Where do you start? Here are five tips:

 

  1. Understand The Goals and Aspirations of Your Boss

The best way to align yourself with your boss is to understand their goals and aspirations. It’s simple, just ask. Then step back and reflect on how you can best support the achievement of those goals and offer to help. 

 

  1. Deliver More Value Than Your Salary

Strive to add more value to the organization in excess of your salary. Increasing sales, reducing cost, and creating new approaches are time-honored techniques. You want to demonstrate that you are a positive asset. 

 

  1. Trust and Honesty

Begin from a position of trust and honesty until proven wrong. Unfortunately, at times you will be proven wrong. 

 

  1. Bring options to resolve problems

Do not raise problems without proposing options for solutions. If you have an issue with one of your peers, sincerely try to work it out with them before escalating to your supervisor. 

 

  1. Give a Damn 

The most important tip is to genuinely care about the success of your boss. Step back and think about how you can help them be more successful.  

The bottom line? Add more value than your salary.