Can You Manage Your Boss?

The title of this post sounds disrespectful.

But it’s not.

A manager is in charge of their team.

They are responsible for their failures and can take credit for their successes (although I don’t recommend the latter).

Yet when you manage up (your boss) it’s only about one thing:

What you can do to help them.

If you’re in a leadership role and someone on your team asks how they can help you, wouldn’t that brighten your day?

See we tend to associate the word manager with control.

That’s called a micromanager (a very disliked species).

But managing your boss has NOTHING to do with control or manipulation.

It is recognizing they have more power than you, yet that’s not what you’re after.

The same way people get promotions is the same way you can help your boss.

• Do great work.

• Take more initiative/responsibility.

• Build and strengthen connections.

I always tell people if you finish your work quietly, don’t talk to anyone and rarely participate, expect to get overlooked.

On the other hand, if you want to earn favor with your boss figure out how to make their job easier.

Get creative, be innovative and suggest more solutions (versus only problems).

This concept has a lot to do with standing out.

Somewhere along the journey, your motivation wanes and the work ethic dips.

Yet remember, it is YOUR job to stay inspired.

• Forget about managing anyone else until you can truly manage yourself.

• From there, borrow the same structure of self-management and apply it to the next level.

Think about a business - it is made up of systems.

One of those systems is how your work gets done.

As an example, if you can help your boss run the company more efficiently how does that change their perception of you?

So don’t let the title fool you.

People are human and they can use your help (even if they don’t ask for it).

If this is a topic you’ve thought about, but haven’t taken any action on reply to this email and let’s talk.

God Bless,

Scott 

P.S. Leadership is just one of the many soft skills I help train others in so if you’re looking for a speaker for your next event👇