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IT’S OKAY TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS The Step-by-Step Program For Making The Best Of Your Most Important Relationship At Work AUTHORS: Bruce Tulgan PUBLISHER: Jossey-Bass DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2010 202 pages

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FEATURES OF THE BOOK It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss is a step-by-step book for high-performing employees who are ready to get the best out of the most important person in their work lives—their boss. Bruce Tulgan catalogs dozens of concrete tactics for real world boss-managing techniques that he has developed through fifteen years of research.

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THE BIG IDEA Bruce Tulgan urges employees to manage their own bosses in order to get what they need to suc­ceed in the workplace and accelerate their careers.

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INTRODUCTION Across all industries and at all levels of organization there is a shocking epidemic of what Bruce Tulgan labels “ undermanagement .” Undermanagement occurs when supervisory relationships between employees and bosses lack the engagement required to maintain the very basics of management: clear expectations, resources, feedback, and fair reward. The result of undermanagement is that both employees and managers are over-worked, stressed out, and not performing at their full potential.

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REFUSE TO BE UNDERMANAGED Undermanagement is destroying workplace relationships and stifling productivity across all industries. Based on his ongoing research since 1993, Tulgan concludes that most problems in the workplace are a result of undermanagement. Employees are not getting what they need from managers at the most basic level, and everyone suffers as a result. According to Tulgan, it is up to employees to take charge and get what they need from their bosses.

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REFUSE TO BE UNDERMANAGED When a boss undermanages, their employee pays the price. No matter what the reason for the boss’s undermanagement may be, the employee is still expected to meet high expectations on the job. In the current workforce, expectations, competition, and uncertainty are constant concerns. So it is up to the employee to be proactive in their career and manage their own boss. This requires a fundamental re-thinking of their role and their relationships in the workplace.

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MYTHS ABOUT MANAGING ONE’S BOSS Myth 1 : If an employee is a high-performer, then their boss should not tell them how to do their job. Myth 2 : In order to be creative at work, employees need to be left alone to do things their own way. Myth 3 : Everyone should get special treatment. Myth 4 : The path to success is catering to the manager’s style and preferences. Myth 5 : “Making friends” with a boss is smart workplace politics.

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MYTHS ABOUT MANAGING ONE’S BOSS Myth 6 : Hiding from mistakes and problems is a good way to avoid trouble. Myth 7 : No news is good news, but being “coached” is bad news. Myth 8 : If the manager does not like to read paperwork, then the employee does not need to keep track of their performance in writing. Myth 9 : If an employee is not a “people person,” then they will have a hard time getting ahead in the workplace. Myth 10 : Some bosses are just too busy to meet with their employees.

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FOCUS ON SELF-MANAGEMENT <ul><li>Tulgan believes that employees must make sure that the first person they are managing every day is themselves. He describes these specific guidelines for employee self-management: </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should understand the role they play in their department. They should focus on playing the role assigned to them successfully before reaching beyond that role. </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should bring their best selves to work every day. </li></ul>

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FOCUS ON SELF-MANAGEMENT <ul><li>Employees should make sure they are not acting like jerks at work. </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should be great workplace citizens by practicing these standards of conduct. </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should get lots of work done very well, very fast, every day </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should focus on problem solving and resist complaining. </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should anticipate and avoid problems. </li></ul><ul><li>Employees should regularly assess their success. </li></ul>

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GETTING IN THE HABIT OF MANAGING THE BOSS EVERY DAY <ul><li>According to Tulgan’s research findings, some bosses will want to spend too much time talking to their employees.In these cases, Tulgan suggests for employees to: </li></ul><ul><li>Talk about the work. </li></ul><ul><li>When anything other than the work is being discussed, do not talk. </li></ul><ul><li>When there is a break in the conversation, go directly back to talking about the work. </li></ul><ul><li>Start taking notes every time the boss starts talking. </li></ul><ul><li>Develop a good, consistent strategy to signal the end of the meeting. </li></ul>

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TRACK PERFORMANCE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY <ul><li>The better an employee tracks their own performance, the more power they will have to: </li></ul><ul><li>Seek guidance, direction, on-the-job training, and coaching. </li></ul><ul><li>Identify resource needs and justify requests. </li></ul><ul><li>Evaluate themselves against the expectations agreed upon with their boss. </li></ul><ul><li>Help their boss keep track of their success by offering regular, accurate performance reports. </li></ul><ul><li>Help their boss link their high performance to increased rewards . </li></ul>

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TRACK PERFORMANCE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY <ul><li>Anticipate problems. </li></ul><ul><li>Enlist their boss’s help in solving problems as they occur. </li></ul><ul><li>Adjust their plans on an ongoing basis. </li></ul><ul><li>Keep setting ambitious goals. </li></ul><ul><li>Gain more responsibility. </li></ul>

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WHAT IF SOMEONE’S BOSS REALLY IS A JERK? <ul><li>Tulgan lists seven subtle types of “jerk” boss behavior: </li></ul><ul><li>The boss lets small problems slide, but then comes down like a ton of bricks when one of those problems gets out of control . An employee should keep an eye out for problems of any kind related to their work, and talk through their work in detail with their boss. </li></ul><ul><li>The boss imposes their obsessive-compulsive preferences onto the employee even though there is no clear business reason . An employee should work with their boss to spell out the parameters of each task and develop a detailed project plan. </li></ul>

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WHAT IF SOMEONE’S BOSS REALLY IS A JERK? <ul><li>The boss treats the employee like a beck-and-call assistant . The employee should try to get their manager or boss to give them as many different to-do items as possible in each interaction. The goal is to move the boss away from giving a list of small tasks toward giving a list with more complex tasks and longer timeframes so the employee may work independently. </li></ul><ul><li>The boss starts pretending things are up to the employee when they are not . Employees should force their manager or boss to spell out every requirement and expectation for every task, responsibility, and project so they do not get stuck doing the wrong kind of work. </li></ul>

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WHAT IF SOMEONE’S BOSS REALLY IS A JERK? <ul><li>The boss is not keeping track of what is going on, but makes big decisions that affect everyone . An employee should keep their manager or bosses informed, and act as a reliable source of honest, accurate, and complete information. </li></ul><ul><li>The boss soft-pedals their authority until something goes terribly wrong, and then becomes authoritarian if a strong disagreement arises . The employee should acknowledge the boss’s authority and power in the working relationship, and remind the boss how much influence they have and how much their support is appreciated. </li></ul>

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WHAT IF SOMEONE’S BOSS REALLY IS A JERK? <ul><li>The boss is intimidating, mean, or abusive. The employee should remember that this is the boss’s psychological problem, not theirs. They should try to get the manager or boss to discuss the behavior. If that does not work, they must walk away or file a complaint with HR. When filing a formal complaint, the employee must first make sure that they have done everything in their power to deal with the situation, as well as have proof to back up their efforts. </li></ul>

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CONCLUSION Tulgan urges employees to really consider their roles and current work performance before reinventing their approach to managing themselves and their bosses. The decision to invoke real change at the workplace is too important to rush. The employee must be prepared for many things to change: their role at work, their relationships at work, and their overall work habits. Employees should attempt to portray a work-minded attitude, and who always go the extra mile. If they follow the steps in It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss , they will successfully learn the skills needed to refuse to be undermanaged, and propel their careers forward.

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