Manage your manager

Before writing this article, I had gone through my past performance, boss assessment and current PBC and how could I make it more better. Trust me, I have been hard working, work alcoholic and no doubt a good performer in my team. I have been appreciated by my managers many times but still when appraisal times come, my hopes always get a back strokes over my expectation. In whole introspection session of 4 hrs, I found that I missed a focal point which could led me towards better performance, faster decision making and accomplishment of more and that is 'Managing my manager'.

It may sound bit ridiculous to some of you , but when I put my eyes on couple of survey by employees regarding their manager the result was quite interesting and sometimes painful. On an survey by famous website on employees perception towards their boss "48 per cent said they would fire their boss if they could, 29 per cent would have their boss assessed by a workplace psychologist and 23 per cent would send their boss for management training.". Sometimes it is more painful when I have heard from one of my good college friend and colleague saying I can't survive here more. My boss is driving me crazy. I don't know if I can make it through the day without an outburst. I am feeling lost in the corporate maze. Abandoned by my boss.. and my career is getting sank.

'Manage your manager' is a challenge these days where in every short span of time ..you will find working yourself with new boss. Every time you have to adjust yourself with new personality, work behavior and the new boss's new needs. Also, once new manager come, he comes with new expectation, new approach of working and every time you need to customize your working approach with him. I have recently gone through different type of boss's and their working approach . First is 'Micro Manager' who wants to control your every move and forces you to spend so much time reporting on what you’ve done that you get nothing accomplished. Then there is the "frantic delegator," who is disorganized, leaves early and puts his entire workload on you while taking full credit for your accomplishments. These managers are with 'narrow approach' they don't let you think above the boundary. They are very much conservative in showing their sub-ordinates skills in front of organization and overall they will take the full credit of your accomplishment. With this type of manager.. never challenge him for hand to hand combat rather play smartly. Work closely with him, frequently communicate with him. Broaden your network with in team and don't forget to mark relevant mails to manager's manager with all team members on every good work you done with appreciating your boss for his support. Also please include him in all your decisions and ask his advise whenever you think. Be careful with following points while interacting with your boss:a)Tell your boss when you are reaching saturation point b) Make your boss aware of the consequences if he/she tries to overload you: “yes I could get that done by then, but that would delay this…” c) Don’t say 'yes' to everything your boss asks you to do, negotiate! d) Ask your boss to prioritise when he gives you a list of tasks. e)When asked to do something: find out details and, if possible, say you'll get back to her, or take a look at it.

Finally, there’s one more approach which is less boss and more coach, who has mastered the art of employee's career development and positive reinforcement. With frequent meetings and updates, he is in the loop enough to keep you on the right track while allowing his employees to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their actions. They are true transformation leaders who not only keep their employees in front behind any of his success who also manage their escalation taking it as his responsibility.

With these different personalities, it’s no wonder our careers are affected by managers. Our successful career path is very much dependent on managers. They can create a roadblock that help us in achieving our goals. The toxic managers must be dealt with carefully. In any case, we must learn how to manage our managers. Stay positive, and realize that in today’s world, things change regularly, and it’s up to you to keep your career on track.