Book: It’s okay to manage your boss. “Managing up means taking the initiative in showing leadership at work, Ask not what your manager can do for you, but what you can do for your manager”. Refuse to be undermanaged. Under management is a success crushing syndrome. This gets in the way of your learning and development, makes it harder for you to optimize relationships and diminishes your opportunities for new tasks, responsibilities, and projects. You want to handle your own tasked and come up with your own method, but we all know that there is somebody who is in charged and that you will be held accountable. You do not have power and you are not free to do as you please. Who is responsible of under management syndrome? => It is the manager’s job to manage. Yet many leaders, managers or supervisors are failing to supervise. Most managers move into higher supervisory position because they are good at something, not because they are good at taking leadership.

Some example why bosses undermanaged: 1. They are afraid of being unfair by not treating all employees the same. Managers can’t do everything for everybody. Most of them take the easy way out, rewarding nobody specially. 2. They are afraid of having difficult confrontations with the employees. Managers avoid day to day conversation with employees because they are trying to avoid confrontation. 3. They feel like they don’t have enough time to spend managing you. When things go wrong at work, managers have to spend time fixing the problem. By the time they finished, they feel like they don’t have enough time to manage their employees.

The first person you have to manage every day is yourself. “If you want to manage somebody, MANAGE YOURSELF. Do that well and you’ll be ready to stop managing. And start LEADING.” Play an active role in managing your relationship with your boss.  Understand what is expected of you.  Create goals and follow your schedule and guidelines.  Before you attempt to manage your boss, you need to do the following: 1.Figure out where you fit in your organization or department. 2.Bring your best self to work everyday. 3.Make sure you are not the jerk at work. 4.Be a great workplace citizen. 5.Get lots of work done very well, very fast, everyday. 6.Be a problem-solver, not a complainer. 7.Anticipate and avoid problems. 8.Regularly asses your productivity, the quality of your work and your behavior. “Once you have yourself under control, you can focus on managing your boss.”

Harvard Business Review: When your BOSS is too NICE! According to Amy Gallo from Harvard Business Review, it can be pleasant to work for someone who is kind and thoughtful but there’s a difference between bosses who are pleasant to work for and those who avoid conflict at all cost. “I’m 100% in favor of kindness and compassion in leadership. What I don’t believe in is a boss who in the name of niceness doesn’t do what he’s supposed to.” –George Mckeown- Tips to lessen of having a boss who is too nice: 1.Be empathetic. 2.Directly address the issue. 3.Make the costs clear. 4.Take matters into your own hands. 5.Tap your network. 6.Consider leaving if you can.

Forbes: Tips how to improve relationship with your boss “It’s important to manage your relationship with your boss if you expect to prosper in a job.” – Joyce Maroney. 1.Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. 2.Show value. 3.Know when and how to communicate with your boss. 4.Ask for feedback. 5.Get to know your boss personally. 6.Offer to help. 7.Keep your supervisor informed. 8.Under-promise and over-deliver. 9.Ask for help and advice. 10.Show your boss respect. 11.Be authentic. 12.Stay above office politics and gossip. 13.Establish a line of open communication.

Book: Problem Bosses. Who they are and how to deal with them. What managing your boss means? Managing your boss breaks down into two components. 1.Figuring out what bosses want and need. - The fist step is to know your boss much better than you currently do. Look at your boss in different perspective. Example: a.Overall operating style. b.Strengths and weakness. c.Life and career goals. d.Needs. e.Interest. f.Values. 2. Giving bosses some of what they want and need, without compromising yourself or your integrity. Example: If your boss never exercise or smokes like a chimney, then you can invite him or her to lunch and eat food that is good for your health or ask what you could do to help them lead a healthier, less stressful life style.

The benefits of “Boss Management” Your boss will Benefit  Your boss is going to have more supporter and they will feel more comfortable and relaxed.  It’s going to make your boss more effective as a boss, because you will be helping out in areas where your needs help. You will Benefit  Your performance ratings will go up.  You will experience less of the stress that comes from struggling every day with a boss you’re not getting along with. The relationship between you and your boss will improve.  You will gain Trust, Respect, Affection, and Confidence short for TRAC.  The higher the TRAC ratings people give each other, the more satisfying and productive the relationship is.

Questions: 1.Give one example from the presentation on how you can improve your relationship with your boss. 2.Give one example from the presentation on how to manage yourself. 3.What are the two components of managing your boss? 4.What is TRAC?

References: Online Articles: improving-your-relationship-with-your-boss/ Jacquelyn Smith. October Amy Gallo. March Book Reference: Problem Bosses. Who they are and how to deal with them. Mardy Grothe and Peter Wylie.1997.Print Managing Up. How to Forge an Effective Relationship with those Above you. Rossane Badowski.2003.Print Its Okay to Manage your Boss. The step by step program for making the best of your most important relationship at work. Bruce Tulgan.2010.Print