[Jobs] Tips for training your boss to be a better manager

[Mary Ann Rojek]

This is a great article, Antonio.  Thank you for sharing it.

Mary Ann Rojek
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ANTONIO GUIMARAES" <amguima at verizon.net>
To: <jobs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 9:03 PM
Subject: [Jobs] Tips for training your boss to be a better manager


> Tips for Training Your Boss
> To Be a Better Manager
>
> By Arlene S. Hirsch
>
> Work can be miserable when you and your boss don't get along. At times,
> quitting may seem to be the only option.
>
> When she was a working journalist, Jill Geisler decided she didn't want to
> work for someone she remembers as a "gloriously imperfect" boss. "Picture
> Anthony
> Quinn, Vince Lombardi, and Hawkeye Pierce all rolled into one man," she
> says. "Volatile. Demanding. Larger than life."
>
> Ms. Geisler, now a group leader in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Poynter
> Institute, a training center for journalists, sought advice from a mentor,
> who
> counseled her to get to know her boss before making a rash career
> decision.
> Now she's glad she did.
>
> She and the man she didn't want to work for are good friends who laugh
> about
> their rocky start 15 years ago. Despite differing styles, they both valued
> high-quality journalism and community service. Once Ms. Geisler had earned
> her supervisor's trust and respect, she could question and challenge his
> decisions
> and even nag him about his idiosyncrasies.
>
> One reason the relationship succeeded is that Ms. Geisler took
> responsibility for making it work. Her candor became the foundation for a
> close and fruitful
> professional partnership.
>
> If you work for an imperfect boss, what are you prepared to do about it?
> These suggestions from consultants and employment experts can help you to
> improve
> your relationship with a new or long-time supervisor:
>
> 1. Learn how to deliver news.
>
> Determine how your boss likes to receive information, says Patti Hathaway,
> an organizational-change consultant in Westerville, Ohio, and a co-author
> of
> "Managing Upward: Strategies for Succeeding With Your Boss" (Crisp
> Publications, 1992). Figure out if you should write memos or send e-mails,
> schedule
> a meeting or make a phone call.
>
> "Your style may be different than theirs," says Ms. Hathaway. "If you want
> to influence that relationship, you'll need to adapt to their
> preferences."
>
> For instance, does your boss prefer details or just the bottom line?
> Competition or cooperation? Often, we present ideas as we would like them
> to
> be presented
> to us, when, in fact, the key to managing someone is to try and meet their
> needs, not ours.
>
> When a new chief executive officer arrived at a well-known retailer, he
> established an open-door policy so he could get to know his new employees
> better.
> Three days into his new job, the CEO received an unannounced visit from a
> marketing manager who had bad news to deliver. Many employees were
> sub-par,
> including
> the entire customer-service team, several sales representatives and many
> administrators, the manager said.
>
> Open-door policy notwithstanding, the new CEO didn't appreciate receiving
> what he viewed as arrogant, inaccurate and overly judgmental
> pronouncements.
> From
> that day forward, the marketing manager's dealings with the CEO
> relationship
> were strained, and they soon parted ways.
>
> "There's an art to presenting issues to the boss. Employees who hone that
> skill stand a better chance of obtaining positive results," says Ms.
> Geisler,
> who now trains managers. "Frame your advice positively. Avoid loaded words
> and phrases. When you say: 'Everyone knows we have a problem with...' your
> manager
> may hear it as a personal accusation instead of an idea for a solution."
>
> 2. Learn your boss's likes and dislikes.
>
> Your boss's imperfections offer great opportunities for you to grow, says
> Ms. Geisler. Start by studying your supervisor and learning his or her
> values,
> priorities, strengths, weaknesses, and expertise.
>
> The key to understanding and managing your relationship is knowing what
> makes your boss "tick," says Ms. Hathaway. What are his or her pet peeves?
> Can you
> tell when your boss is angry or satisfied?
>
> She suggests observing what someone who gets along well with your boss
> does
> that makes them so successful. If you are too close to the relationship to
> be
> objective, observing someone else can help you learn what's effective.
>
> It's important to clarify a boss's goals and expectations, says Johanna
> Rothman, CEO of Jrothman Consulting Inc., an information-technology firm
> in
> Arlington,
> Mass. "Help them become familiar with the role you play, and how your
> activities can contribute to their goals and accomplishments," she says.
>
> 3. Don't expect your boss to take responsibility for your relationship
> .
>
> Employees often mistakenly assume that the boss-subordinate relationship
> is
> a one-way street, instead of understanding they're responsible for forging
> an
> effective working relationship.
>
> It may help to remember that your boss is an ordinary person who doesn't
> have all the answers and needs help, says Michael H. Smith, an
> organizational psychologist
> in Oakland, Calif. "Accept your responsibility. Instead of expecting your
> boss to be the perfect parent who understands and responds to all of your
> needs,
> recognize that bosses are ordinary people in a tough job, and do your best
> to help them do that job better," he says.
>
> Ms. Geisler says she strived to do her part to improve her working
> relationship with her former supervisor. "Make no mistake about it," she
> says. "That
> communication was something I saw as my responsibility. I worked at
> balancing our strengths and styles all the time."
>
> 4. Help your manager to be successful.
>
> It's important to help your boss do a good job because your success is
> linked to his or hers, says Ms. Rothman.
>
> Figure out what your boss needs to be successful and then try to provide
> it.
> "Take the initiative to provide feedback," says Mr. Smith. "Many bosses
> are
> isolated from their employees, and don't get enough feedback or genuine
> insight about an employee's needs and goals."
>
> Don't assume your boss won't appreciate your taking the initiative to
> educate him or her. An information-systems executive for a global
> manufacturing firm
> in southern Illinois reports having had six bosses in seven years, and
> he's
> helped train them all. Due to the high turnover in the role, he knows more
> about the position than they do. All have appreciated his helpful
> suggestions.
>
> Helping them learn what is necessary to be effective is in his best
> interest, he says. "It's my job to train them the way I want them to be
> trained," he
> says. "I need my boss to be successful. If my boss isn't successful, the
> whole department suffers. Right out of the gate, they have to sound
> confident
> and competent. I don't want them stumbling and hurting me."
>
> Since his bosses are usually nontechnical managers, the IS executive
> assumes
> they'll need technical coaching. But he's careful not to overstep his
> boundaries.
> "I assume the new manager knows how to manage people or they wouldn't have
> gotten the job in the first place," he says. "But I also assume that they
> want
> to succeed in their new position and that it's my responsibility to help
> them be successful."
>
> His advice is nonthreatening because he doesn't have a hidden agenda: He
> isn't interested in moving up the ladder or taking their jobs. He just
> wants
> to
> go on doing his effectively. "We're on the same team," he said. "And we
> both
> have the same goals. We both want them to be successful."
>
> Ms. Rothman concurs with his views. "Educate them; don't make them feel
> ignorant. Don't make them feel like you're judging them. A new boss in any
> culture
> needs to understand 'what everyone knows' - you can get a lot of mileage
> out
> of that. It helps create a bond of trust and influence."
>
> 5. Don't rush things.
>
> As with any good relationship, it takes time to build trust. Susan Bixler,
> president and founder of The Professional Image, a
> corporate-leadership-consulting
> firm in Atlanta, encourages employees she coaches to move slowly and use
> maturity and good judgment when dealing with bosses.
>
> "With so much downsizing and reorganization in the workplace, the
> traditional boss-employee bond has deteriorated," she says. "The length of
> time and opportunity
> to develop an effective working relationship is steadily shrinking."
>
> Diplomacy can be the better part of valor. People who take the initiative
> to
> be a part of the solution usually garner more influence and support from
> their
> bosses than perpetual naysayers.
>
> -- Ms. Hirsch is a career counselor in Chicago. She's written several
> books
> on career issues, including "How to Be Happy at Work" (Jist Publishing,
> 2003).
>
> Email your comments to
> cjeditor at dowjones.com.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Jobs mailing list
> Jobs at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs
>