13 Mar
|
4 min
As individuals in a team we focus on giving our best efforts towards the team’s success; supporting each other and working well together.
But one of the key relationships in the workplace is the one with your immediate line manager. It’s a relationship of mutual dependence – they rely on you and you need to be able to rely on them – yet it’s often overlooked in personal development.
The fact is that your working relationship with your line manager can hugely impact your role, your responsibilities, your mindset and your health and wellbeing.
And let’s be honest – you don’t get to pick your boss.
You don’t always have the boss you want, or the boss you feel you deserve – and some individuals will prove to be an ongoing challenge. How successfully you manage that relationship can therefore affect how much you enjoy our role, your opinion of the company and even your thoughts about your future within that business.
Failing to successfully manage upwards can result in an ongoing emotional rollercoaster of feeling on one hand demotivated, dejected, frustrated, shocked and downright furious and on the other, surprised, delighted, motivated and chuffed!
To be most effective, you need to be able to collaborate with your boss, work in partnership, understand each other and keep communication lines open and running smoothly.
So here are my 6 top tips for getting to grips with this key relationship and making it as productive as possible for both of you:
To successfully manage the relationship with your boss firstly you must understand yourself –y our own strengths, weaknesses, drivers, stressors. Aristotle said ‘Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom’ – and this is important in your professional life. What are you naturally good at? The things you don’t have to ‘try’ at, but that come easily to you. What motivates you and drives you forward? And what about the things you find more challenging, that push you outside your comfort zone? The things you find tougher and that zap your energy. Do you understand why you react the way you do to certain situations? To certain people? What triggers strong emotional responses in you at work? What winds you up? What frustrates you?
As individuals, it’s good to recognise exactly what positives you bring to the table…but being sufficiently self-aware to recognise your own foibles, is equally pertinent.
Equally you need to try to understand them – their strengths, weaknesses, drivers, motivators and stressors. How do your workstyles and needs align? And how do they differ?
Do you have completely opposite approaches and ways of tackling things? For example, is one of you more people-focused and the other more task-focused? Do your different approaches clash? Or could those differences potentially complement each other, if used more constructively?
If your boss brings something different to the table than you, then finding out how you can work together collaboratively may be tough, but the most successful working relationships recognise and appreciate the strengths each person has – even when they are polar opposites.
Moving to mutual appreciation and respect may feel difficult if your differences are considerable. But this can be achieved by discussing what you expect from each other, identifying what you need from each other and agreeing how you can keep the working momentum moving positively. Don’t shy away from having this sort of 1 to 1 chat. Too few people avoid having what they perceive as tough conversations with colleagues and end up bearing grudges, frustrations, and feeling generally wound up by the other person. Which leads me to my next point…
An easy in-road to having that type of conversation is to suggest a regular catch up to review progress. Diarising a regular meeting to check in with each other and importantly for you to seek feedback from them as to what’s working and what’s not.
Remember, we all think we know ourselves – but perhaps what we actually know is our intent, rather than how we actually come across to others. Seek feedback and be openminded when you get it!
Keep strengthening those communication lines – let your boss know about your successes and your team’s successes. Don’t cover up mistakes – be transparent, be open, explain what happened and, importantly, what you’ve done to put things right. Demonstrate pro-activeness and keep them in the loop. Don’t let them find out things from other sources; keep them updated.
And finally – show your initiative. If the proverbial really has ‘hit the fan’, don’t just go to them with the disastrous details; go with solutions! Build trust between the two of you by showing your ability to come up with new ideas, ways of overcoming challenges and how you plan to tackle those issues. Show your open mindedness; listen to their suggestions – especially if they’re really different to your own – make sure you understand their perspective too and stop to reflect before you decide on your course of action.
