Managing Your Boss In A Week

Managing Up In Seven Simple Steps

Sandi Mann

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781473607873
• eBook ISBN: 9781444159394
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Skills
• Index: Business

Managing your boss just got easier
Having a good working relationship with the person in charge is crucial to enjoying a positive and fulfilling work life. All of the problems created by difficult relationships can be avoided, in many cases, by simply learning the skills to successfully 'manage' your boss. Most of us think that it is the other way around - that the boss manages us - but the astute employee knows that it works both ways.If you understand how your boss operates, the inner working of their brain and their personality, you are far better able to meet their needs as an employee. And an employee who meets the needs and expectations of their boss will be a popular employee indeed!This book guides you through the process of managing your boss so as to ensure that you are ideally placed to become their favourite employee. Whether you choose to read it in a week or in a single sitting, this is your fastest route to success: - Sunday: What kind of animal is the 'boss'?
- Monday: What type of boss do you have?
- Tuesday: Using the psychological contract to manage your boss
- Wednesday: How to impress your boss
- Thursday: Getting more from your boss
- Friday: Dealing with the boss from hell
- Saturday: Common problems with managing the boss

Having spent Sunday looking at the general make-up of your typical boss, it is now time to get down to detail and have a go at working out what makes your own boss tick. Today, then, we focus on a more individual diagnosis of your boss – which is the first step to really understanding them.

There are many ways to classify or ‘diagnose’ people or their personalities and this chapter will take you through two of these methods. The first one is Leadership Style and there are six typical leadership styles which refer to the preferred way of managing that your boss is likely to use. The technique they adopt is likely to be chosen by them as a result of life experiences, training and personality. Knowing which leadership style your boss tends to use is vital in ensuring that you can adapt your own working style to suit their leadership style.

The other diagnostic technique is to examine their Thinking Style, which refers to the way that people process information. Again, understanding their thinking style will enable you to adapt your work in a way that meets their needs – which in turn will help you build a positive relationship with your boss.

The main features today, then, are:

• diagnosing your boss in terms of their leadership style and thinking style

• quizzes to diagnose your own boss

• tips for managing each type of boss.

Leadership styles

Leadership styles refer to the way in which the functions of your boss or manager are carried out or the way in which your boss typically acts or behaves towards you. The following are some typical leadership styles:

• Dictatorial: This boss feels that that they are in charge for a reason, that reason being that they are the best person for the job, and therefore their job as leader is to tell others what do and how to do it. Such a boss is often motivated by n-Pow (see Sunday) and finds it difficult to see things from other people’s points of view. They tend to rely on reward and punishment in order to get the best out of their workers.

• Bureaucratic: This boss got where they are today by following the rules, and sees no reason to have a different philosophy now. They tend to lack entrepreneurial risk-taking qualities, but they are likely to be a law-abiding and reliable citizen who takes their responsibilities very seriously. Any queries from subordinates, problems to be solved or decisions to be made are dealt with by referring to the rulebook. Such managers like to have everything written down, and use forms and paperwork excessively to keep track of what’s happening.

• Charismatic: This boss motivates their followers by inspiring them to achieve the organization’s goals rather than pursue their own interests. This boss leads by personal example and is likely to gain great loyalty and hard work from their team. Such a boss is often himself motivated by a high n-Actl (see Sunday).

• Consultative: The consultat...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title
• About the Author
• Contents 
• Introduction
• Sunday: What kind of animal is the ‘boss’?
• Monday: What type of boss do you have?
• Tuesday: Using the psychological contract to manage your boss
• Wednesday: How to impress your boss
• Thursday: Getting more from your boss
• Friday: Dealing with the boss from hell
• Saturday: Common problems with managing the boss
• 7 × 7
• Answers
• Further reading and references
• Copyright