interacting with your boss

Interacting with your boss… requires you to know what your boss needs and expects…. It’s important enough to examine the problem in more detail:

• Going along. Many direct reports figure it’s the boss’s responsibility to tell them what she needs and expects. It’s true, many bosses fail to do a good job of it. There are lots of reasons bosses don’t communicate – they can’t express, or haven’t the time, to discuss their needs; or they assume their employees already know their needs, etc. So, the direct reports go along in the dark.
• Probing. The direct report also has a responsibility to dig for the information about his boss’s needs and expectations when the boss fails to volunteer them. This can be risky. However, the alternative of wasting time and effort not knowing and guessing at what the boss wants is worse. So, the answer to the dilemma is that the direct report is obligated to probe to get this important information.

Here are four questions to answer that will tell you about the boss’s needs and expectations:

1. What does the boss find difficult to do? Knowing this can be invaluable during an interaction, because it provides a strong clue as to where and when you should exert leadership, especially if what’s difficult for her is easy for you. For example, if she dislikes doing detailed long-range planning, but you are good at it, she will probably be happy for you to take the lead when your meeting gets into this subject.
2. In what form does the boss most easily grasp things? We all absorb certain kinds of information more readily than others. For instance, a boss who isn’t number-oriented may become bored by your reading off figures. In this case, you may make your presentation more effective by preparing several bar graphs or pie charts.
3. Does the boss prefer a statement of the problem or a recommended solution? Different bosses prefer to enter the problem-solving process at different points. Some want to be involved right from the start to help clarify the problem. Others want only to be involved in the solution.
4. Does the boss prefer hearing or reading about problems? Some bosses like to learn information face-to-face so they can ask questions on the spot. Others prefer to be alerted by memo or e-mail so they can mull over the situation before meeting on it.

R. Lefton, Victor R. Buzzotta

Leadership Through People Skills. McGraw Hill Professional, 2004.