We all have stories about a difficult boss. Some yell, some are so disorganized that it’s hard to keep track of what it is they really want you to do, and some fail to set any type of communication with you that you do not know if they are coming or going.
Maybe it is time to manage your manager! Try these 5 steps to see if you can make your working relationship work a little more for you!
- Over Communicate – Document, document, document! Keep track of your work achievements and document the work that you do during the week. Provide a detailed status update over email (which you will hang onto!), which will hopefully curb any complaints they may have about how you are performing. Let them know if something has come up out of your control and document how you feel it would best be solved. Keeping your boss informed of the status of projects helps them to be in a better position to make decisions and help you. It makes you appear more competent and will relax your boss during their own meetings with their manager.
- Send out detailed agendas for upcoming meetings – Make it a priority to set up regular meetings with your boss in order to make sure topics get discussed that you need prioritization for. Make it worth your while with a detailed agenda. Follow up with meeting notes so you can reference them in the future if need be. Even better? Send out a follow-up email with bullet points highlighting the meeting’s action items and topic discussions to make sure everyone is on the same page. Always include deadlines in these notes to make sure you have covered all your bases on when you both agreed items would be due.
- Establish boundaries and preferences with them early in your working relationship – Ask them how you can make their job easier. Solicit feedback in order to try to diffuse any difficult situation from occurring.
- Keep in touch with your boss regarding their changing priorities – Check in at the beginning of the work day making sure you are on the same page with what your boss may need. It helps because it allows you to prioritize your day according to your boss’ day and may help you to remove things from your list that are no longer relevant for your boss. Bonus? They’ll love having a focused and attentive employee who is doing what they can to make their day easier.
- Try to anticipate potential problems and offer solutions before they escalate – Be pre-emptive. You want to focus on a problem when it is small and not yet high on your boss’ radar. Suggest solutions to things that may happen over and over again and your boss will appreciate having someone who is doing their best to improve office management.
Hopefully these small tips will help to make things more manageable for you on a day-to-day basis.