Leslie’s Articles
No One Ever Told You
Three steps to take control of your career
All this time you thought your biggest challenge was managing your own career. In some ways, it is your biggest challenge. After all, if you don’t manage your career, who will?
Your biggest challenge in managing your career is managing your boss. You may think your Boss manages you: many people do believe that their boss manages them. Effective, successful, promotable, valuable team members understand the value and necessity of managing up-they understand that they:
- Are able to manage up
- Need to know what ways they can manage up
- Need to how to manage their Boss
“Waiting for Godot” is a play written in 1948. First it was written in French, then made its way to the English theatre and then to America. It was dubbed, the theatre of the absurd. Characters often engage in seemingly meaningless dialogue or activities, and, as a result, the audience senses what it is like to live in a universe that doesn’t “make sense.”
Don’t we often feel as though we live in a world that does not make sense? Especially when it comes to your Boss.
Most Americans’ feelings about their boss are pretty cut and dry – they either like them or they don’t. Surprisingly, 58 percent of people who work for someone else say they like their boss, and 14 percent consider their boss a personal friend, a 2007 MSN-Zogby poll shows. The challenge here is that just because 58 percent like their boss does not mean that they are “managing” their boss and thereby managing their own career.
Income plays an unexpected role in supervisor likeability. Those on the lower end of the household income scale partake in boss bashing more frequently than those with higher incomes.17 percent of those earning $75,000 or more in household income say they’re buddies with boss. Just because 17 percent like their boss does not mean that they are “managing” their boss and thereby managing their own career.
Only three percent of those with $100,000 in household income have bad feelings about their boss. Just because 97 percent like their boss does not mean that they are “managing” their boss and thereby managing their own career.
People often whine about their Boss. They Wait and Wait and Wait.
Wait for their Boss to answer their email
Wait for their Boss to stop and see them
Wait for their Boss to schedule a meeting
Wait for their boss to notice them
Wait for their boss to value them
Here’s a thought, stop waiting.
Three steps to take control of your career:
- Schedule regular meetings with your boss
- Set the agenda for the meetings
- Be proactive and inclusive in promoting your accomplishments
Remember that if you don’t toot your own horn there will be no music.
- Schedule regular meetings with your boss
Stop waiting for your Boss or your company to value you.
Be proactive. In the last century it may have been standard operating procedure for the Boss to ask to see you. This is 21st century leadership. Ask for regular meetings. Consider how often you need to meet and what is realistic with everyone’s schedule.
It matters less how often you meet than that you do meet: every week, every other week, once a month, once a quarter, Whatever YOU need. Whatever you need to take control of your career, your goals, whatever you need to be successful.
Preferably these meetings will be face-to-face. Even in this technological world your goal is to get face-to-face meetings whenever possible.
- Set the agenda for the meetings
Set the agenda. Yes, you set the agenda.
He or she who sets the agenda has the power.
You decide where you are going to sit.
He or she who selects a seat of power has more influence.
Most of the time your Boss will appreciate that you set the agenda.
They are busy and unless I have coached them, they will not realize the power they are giving you.
Use it wisely.
Use the scalpel of clarity on your own agenda.
One value of regular meetings is that you will not have to create a lengthy agenda . . . you know you will have another scheduled meeting.
- Be proactive and inclusive in promoting your accomplishments
When you have a success, a new product, deadline met, or new client, copy your Boss with the news. It’s all about communication. It’s how you communicate your success, not whether or not you communicate your successes.
Copy your Boss on an email to keep them in the loop. What you send in snail mail will get more attention. Briefly explain the benefit to your Boss or the company for the accomplishment. Don’t expect your Boss to see the value. Use communication to Connect the Dots.
More than jobs, health care, or the economy, your success is largely based on your ability to manage up. Your career depends on your ability to manage your Boss.
