Managing Up: Staying One Step Ahead

A few days ago, I wrote about how good communication can help you Manage Up to improve life with a childish boss. Once you’ve established a good rapport, you can take the next step of learning to anticipate your boss’s needs.

Many of a manager’s negative behaviors stem from feeling out of control or insecure. You can address this by striving to help her feel grounded and confident. If you’ve ever felt your boss’s behavior was predictable, take advantage of your ability to forecast storms and take preemptive action. Evaluate upcoming deadlines and offer to make a priority list of projects that can be moved ahead. If she has an extremely heavy workload, offer your support and praise her for her accomplishments. When her boss is scheduled for a visit, help her get the office and the team in tip-top form. You can be a calming, positive influence on her, and ideally, you’ll be rewarded for being such an essential team member.

Visit the Tame Your TOT™ site.