101 Boss Management

Who hasn’t had a bad boss? Managers and high-level executives are often over-burdened, just like their direct reports, which can make them real bears to be around. Even CEOs have to know a thing or two about boss management to prepare for those pesky board of directors meetings. But rather than just resigning yourself to a bad boss relationship, take some of the following advice to get you on the road to a less stressful workplace.

Tailor Your Approach. Everyone has their quirks, and that’s okay. Smart employees and executives know how to size up their bosses and customize their proposals. Identifying your manager’s style is key, says executive coach Mariette Edwards in a Wall Street Journal article.

“If you and your manager seem to be speaking two different languages, then the problem may be that you are not leaning into that person’s style,” she says. “An analytical [type boss] will take exception to someone who presents an idea without data to support it. A people person will be offended in the absence of regular communication.”

Think Sideways. Jack Cooper, president of CIO consulting firm JM Cooper & Associates, shares with BNet.com a lesson he learned in boss management while at Bristol-Myers Squibb. During elevator rides with fellow middle managers, he’d go to work selling people on the value of his initiatives.

“I got very good at being able to summarize…exactly how our technology investment was helping that executive to be more successful,” Cooper says. “As a consequence, come budget time, when I asked the big boss for the money I needed, I had a chorus of voices backing my request.”

Ask Questions. Every boss appreciates an engaged employee. Penelope Trunk, a career-advice blogger (blog.penelopetrunk.com), suggests taking the time to both “read and listen” and then ask questions.

“You will make yourself more interesting to be around, and you will elicit fresh ideas from everyone around you,” she writes. “Your boss will feel like having you on the team improves everyone’s work, even his own, and that, after all, is your primary job in managing up.”