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In
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Feature Article
How to Manage Your Manager
By Karen Wagner
Women Transforming Culture
How They Do It:
Leading a Research Team
By Natalia Nieto
Cultural Corner
Cinema Forum: Critique & Discussion
By Martha Swanzey
News, Recent and Upcoming Events
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Murray
Hill Institute Newsletter
Spring 2010
Volume 7 No. 2
FEATURE
ARTICLE
How to Manage Your Manager
By Karen Wagner
Karen Wagner is a Vice President at Société Générale.
This article is adapted from a talk she gave at an Evening of
Conversation for Young Professionals in September 2009 at Murray
Hill Institute.
Discussions on interacting with higher management often focus on
handling difficult situations and resolving conflicts. But
if we are properly managing our managers, conflicts should be minimal.
By being pro-active, it is possible to create a positive work environment
that will lead to win-win situations where everyone wins, especially YOU. If
you are effectively managing your manager, you will be satisfied
with the recognition that your manager is giving you, which will
have ripple effect. As a satisfied worker, you will be more
loyal to your work, your manager will be satisfied because he or
she is supporting a hard worker, and an environment will be fostered
that promotes productivity for the entire team.
We often hear that in order to advance in our careers, we need
to “keep our heads down,” work hard, be a team player,
demonstrate good merits, and with a bit of luck we will be promoted.
All of this is valid. However, pro-actively getting visibility,
building trust, and earning the support of your manager are equally
important. It has never been as critical as now to be pro-active!
Why? With everyone so busy at the office today and with managers
trying to meet increasing demands, successfully execute deals and “put
out fires,” many good people simply go unnoticed. It’s
nothing personal; everyone is just stretched to the limit. Your
ability to manage your manager ensures that he or she knows who
you are and that you are a key contributor to the team. You
simply cannot be a nice person and hope that all good things will
come your way naturally. They won’t. I have
seen it many times—why did someone get a promotion and the
one who should have gotten it, has to wait another year? Perhaps
this has to do with their ability to properly manage the manager’s
perception of them.
I will share with you five ways for you to better manage your manager.
Though I cannot guarantee the promotion or pay raise, it will definitely
improve your visibility, and managers are more eager to “stick
their necks out” for those who they work well with and who
they can trust.
1. Make sure that you are communicating effectively with
your manager.
Some managers are readers; they prefer to receive information in
written form. Others are listeners; they prefer to get their information
verbally. Do you know which of the two your manager is? If
you are a writer and your manager is a listener, then your communication
will not be effective. Effective communication
is the basis for being able to succeed in almost every situation.
By communicating with your manager the way she or he prefers, your
ideas will be better heard and understood and you are increasing
the chance of getting what you want.
Communication can also include:
-
Body language: What are your posture and facial expression communicating
when you are interacting with your boss?
-
How do you dress? Dressing in a professional manner that is
consistent with the way managers in your work group dress can
promote effective communication.
-
Be aware of over-use of email and instant messaging. Sometimes
it is better to pick up the phone or have a face-to-face discussion,
especially if your manager prefers to communicate by telephone.
-
If you are new to a position or if it is not clear how the boss
best communicates, just ask how she or he prefers to receive information.
Your boss will appreciate your pro-activity and your interest
in aligning your working style with his or her preferences.
2. Understand your manager’s work style.
Some people are more analytical and prefer numbers, charts, and
graphs, not words. Others prefer verbal explanations and tune
out during quantitative discussions. Learn which category your
manager falls into. Why? If your manager is a numbers person and
you provide a 10-page briefing memo with no charts/graphs, you
run the risk of being perceived as “not giving me what I
asked for.” If your manager likes to micro-manage
all situations, then make sure you go out of your way to keep
him or her well informed. By the same token, don’t
bombard your manager with unnecessary information—especially
those who expect their team to work independently.
Determining
your manager’s preferred way of communication
and work style is not difficult.
-
Review expectations and preferences. What kinds of emails does
he or she want to be copied on? Does she or he prefer work to
be delivered via email or in hard copy form? If in doubt, simply
ask.
-
Study memos and reports your boss had generated to learn about
his or her writing style. Do they start with an introduction or
summary or launch directly into the data?
3. Establish Goals with Your Manager.
Look on the performance review as a chance to sit down with your
manager and discuss your strengths, weaknesses and contributions
to the team. It is an opportunity to ensure that your manager
is aware of your achievements and to show that your career is
serious to you. It is also a chance to hear, firsthand, what your
boss thinks of you. You cannot manage your boss’ expectations
if you do not know what these expectations are.
If your manager appears to know you and everything is going great,
then this means that you are communicating well. This is a
good moment to focus the conversation on your career advancement:
what do you need to be doing to get more visibility at senior management
levels? What are the next steps in your career? Think
ahead about what your answer will be if you are asked about your
own goals, or how you will bring it up if you feel the time is right.
On the other hand, you may realize during the review that your
manager has a less than favorable opinion of your performance. Do
not become frustrated or discouraged by this, but make sure you
understand what is being said, and be sure you come away with a
clear idea of what you need to work on to correct the problem. Your
initial reaction may be to disagree, but keep this to yourself until
you have had time to reflect on it. As you implement the objectives
you established with your manager, make sure she or he is aware
of your efforts. Managers appreciate it when their advice is taken
seriously and an employee is making a conscious effort to change.
By communicating to your manager what’s important to you,
you eliminate any possibility for misunderstandings: you will be
less likely to find yourself wondering why you weren’t assigned
the big account or given the promotion. You will never give your
manager the opportunity to say “I didn’t know it was
important to you.”
4. Align your priorities with those of your manager.
Do you know what your boss’s priorities are? Are they the
same as yours? If not, your success may be overlooked because his
or her definition of success is tied to his or her agenda: For example,
if your boss’ priority is to increase the team’s income
by 15% but your priority is getting new clients (Note: it takes
time to get new income with prospects). Your misaligned priorities
may cause you to fall short when you do not reach the income growth
target. If you truly feel that your priority is important to the
team, you need to get your manager onboard with this idea and convince
him or her that this is also a priority of his or hers. If
your goals are aligned, then your success will be aligned as well.
At evaluation time, it will be easy to conclude that you had a successful
year.
5. Build loyalty and trust.
By taking care to align your goals and priorities with those of
your boss, you will help him or her do a better job and will create
opportunities to stand out and demonstrate loyalty and trustworthiness.
Most people are dependable, hardworking and have a desire to do
a good job, but because of work demands, people tend just to do
what they are required to do. Take this one notch higher by developing
a stronger relationship—be pro-active and be different from
the rest!
For some of you, this may be perceived as being a “teachers
pet.” I do not see it as such. Though never stipulated
in your job description, one of your responsibilities is to make
your manager look good always and this includes managing the opinions/views
that others have of her. Managers really appreciate when they sense
that their people are out to protect and help them.
To add to this point, please never:
-
Embarrass, surprise or confront your manager in public.
-
Go above your manager’s head or behind his or her back.
-
Talk critically or gossip about your boss.
Once your manager loses trust in you, it will be very difficult
to gain it back.
The five suggestions above will help you to work with any manager,
experienced or new, brilliant or average, easy to get along with
or difficult. With luck, some of your managers will also become
valued mentors and friends with whom you can share career experiences
and consult about career decisions long after your relationship
as boss and employee has ended. |
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