Bosses, bosses. How do you manage them?

Being in the public service for over 10 years, I had the opportunity to work under different bosses in different departments through a mixed of project and core postings.

*You can check out more about me on linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chengyu-leo-liao-008854136

And throughout these postings there are bosses of different cultures and different work ethos. Some are outright demanding and while the rest are not, there bound to be certain peeves that seemed to rub you on the wrong side. In the public service, there is a clear chain of command and like most organisation goes, the bosses has the final say, regardless of how brilliant you think your idea is.

I am glad to say that most of my proposals and suggestions had been made possible and positively impacted people in their lives at my workplace. But I've also known of great ideas going down the drain.

Why so? The reason boilds down to the following;

Trust

This is the absolute one most important factor that affects bosses buy-in. Once you have earned your bosses trust. You find that you can convince and make changes easier. You will also realise that you tend to get more autonomy and freedom to do the things you want to do.

So the next question is,

How do you gain trust?

Know what are the expectations of your bosses. I had bosses with extremely high demands who constantly seek my best and bosses who exercise laissez faire leadership as long as theres no trouble. The types of bosses will also means that the difficulty to gain their trust.

The easiest and most straight forward way? Do your best and bring quality results. Nothing speaks louder than the results you bring. In my case, I can talk until the sky falls down but if I can't manage my cases nor aid in my team, there will be no trust from the bosses at all.

Speaking the same lingo as your boss

Beyond giving results, the culture and temperament of your boss matters too. Some bosses love you to challenge their ideas for something greater. Some bosses hate you for challenging them. In the perfect environment, your boss and supervisor listen to you, care for you and want you to be better everyday. That is a dream that will never happen as long as your bosses are human. Some people wanted power, ego, greed, authority and depending on the type of boss you encounter, you have to tailor of how you talk to them.

You know your boss absolutely cannot take a no as an answer, you should think of ways to answer him politically. You know your boss love an honest debate, challenge his ideas and don't be a yes man.

All this is only possible by knowing your boss. By spending time to know the relationship of him and the other staff in office, you can get a rough sensing of what kind of person he might be. Generally, the safer bet is to listen and follow his directions when you are new to the department or when you first work under a new boss. Make an effort to know him inside out and that is the best advantage you can gain.

There are many other tips and tricks to manage your bosses out there but the best way is to simply gain their trust!

Be better everyday.

Leo