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Jean Kelley
Manage
YourBoss
No matter where you work, you report to someone—
maybe even to two or three bosses. And whether you
think your boss is brilliant or a bore, the fact is that
you have to manage the relationship with your boss if
you want to advance your career.
Realize that you are more dependent on your boss
than your boss is on you because your boss holds the
key to your short-term future. Not only can your boss
release you at any time, especially in today’s economy,
but your boss can also unconsciously ostracize you by
not keeping you in the communication loop and by
giving all the desirable projects to others. When your
boss senses that communication between the two
of you is not going well and situations have not been
resolved, he or she will simply go work with your co-
workers rather than you.
If you don’t manage the relationship with your boss,
you won’t last long in your particular position—either
you’ll get fred or you’ll quit. Granted, if you work for
a large company, you might be able to transfer to a
diferent boss. But, even then, if you don’t know how
to manage your boss you could end up repeating the
same mistake as you did with your former boss.
So, before you let a little mismanagement on your
part disrupt your career, take some time to learn the
keys of “boss management.”The following suggestions
will get you started on the right path and contribute
to a more harmonious working life.
Find out from your boss what “good” looks like and
all who are involved in measuring“good.”
Whether you report to one person or four diferent
bosses, you need to make sure you’re meeting
everyone’s expectations. After all, what seems good
to you may only be mediocre to your boss. Therefore,
fnd out what “good” looks like to each boss you
report to. You could simply ask, “What does ‘good’