Five Steps to a Happy Boss…and a Happy You

So, how much time do you spend thinking about your manager and how their day is going? Ever think about the fact that a happy boss is a wonderful thing? And, done right, is a direct path to a happy you? Managing upward, i.e. learning how to deliver the greatest value to your own manager, is as important as managing down to ultimately progress in one’s career and to deliver maximum value to the company.

Five tips to manage up successfully:

What are your boss’s priorities? Hopefully he already knows yours. You should have already agreed on your own priorities with your manager, and should regularly revisit them together (If you haven’t, it would be a good idea). But how many of us are clear about our manager’s priorities, and what they need to deliver to be successful? It is critical to have this perspective, as your priorities can and should be affected by the bigger picture of what your manager wants to achieve. Going above and beyond on an initiative that has far-reaching impact for one’s manager and the broader team is a great thing to do and a great way to make oneself valued.

Can you make her life easier? One of my employees marched into my office early in her tenure and announced, “I am here to make your life easier. How can I help?” The simplicity and wonderfulness of the offer is something I still remember ten years later. Sometimes, a manager hesitates to delegate the more tedious tasks to her team members, and just does it herself. Sometimes, this is not the optimal use of the manager’s time. A carte blanche offer to help with “whatever needs doing” can be invaluable.

How does he like to communicate? Take the time to understand how your manager likes to work. Speak with others who have worked for him in the past, to understand what type and frequency of communication is optimal. Communication styles vary widely. Some people prefer that you share only the final conclusion, others want to dive into the details. Does your manager prefer an organized presentation of a proposed solution, or does he want to brainstorm with you and the team to come to conclusion? Does he like “drive-by” drop-ins or does he find this distracting? Learn how he likes to receive and absorb information, and work to deliver on it. Your interactions will be much more mutually rewarding.

Know when, and how, to say no: There are times when the workload is just too heavy, and that next project, that next request, just cannot happen. Make sure you bring it up as soon as you realize it is an issue, the sooner the better. Think hard, maybe there is something else on your to-do list that can slip to make room for this initiative. List your projects in order of priority. When your manager sees the rack-and-stack of all your impending projects, she may decide that this one can wait, or she may place it higher and postpone or eliminate something else. Either way, this transparency will help everyone to gain clarity on current and future efforts and priorities.

Build a relationship: Bosses are people too. Remember they have bad days and good days, and what happens in their personal life inevitably colors their professional lives as well, as it does for us all. New baby? Sleepless nights? Difficult teenager (is there any other kind)? Think about how that might impact their day-to-day life in the office. Ideally, get to know your manager as a person. What excites her? What keeps him up at night on the personal or professional front? Given that most of us come in to work everyday not just for a paycheck, but for the work we do, and, equally important, the people we work with, it is important to get to know those you work with as real people.

It is important that you respect and learn from your boss, and that you can see the value your boss delivers to you and to the company. Sometimes, however, you may find that, try as you might, your style and your manager’s style are so divergent that it is hard to work together. Even if you ultimately choose to find another role, another boss, know that you will gain skills from trying to adapt to a different style of working and communication than your own. And think carefully who you work for next, so that you can learn and benefit from your prior experience. Look for a good fit not only in the skills needed for the role, but also for the optimal match of manager for you and your work-style. A new job is not just about the job, it’s equally about the new boss.

And then, at the end of the day, remember it is “on you” to make it work, and it’s so worth it. Because a happy boss means a happy and successful you too.

Originally published on LinkedIn