There is nothing quite as conducive to success as a successful and rapidly promoted superior.
Almost everybody has at least one boss. And the trend is for knowledge workers to have an increasing number of bosses, an increasing number of people on whose approval and appraisal they depend, and whose support they need.
There are keys to success in managing bosses.
- First, put down on a piece of paper a “boss list,” everyone to whom you are accountable, everyone who appraises you and your work, everyone on whom you depend to make effective your work and that of your people.
- Next, go to each of the people on the boss list at least once a year and ask, “What do I do and what do my people do that helps you do your job?” And, “What do we do that hampers you and makes life more difficult for you?”
It is your job to enable each of your bosses to perform as unique individuals according to their working styles. Your bosses should feel comfortable that you are playing to their strengths and safeguarding them from their limitations and weaknesses.
ACTION POINT: Make a “boss list.” Ask the questions listed in this reading to each person on your boss list.
The Effective Executive
Managing the Boss (Corpedia Online Program)
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker