HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS? - Vijay Chandhran

Managing one’s BOSS is like walking on a tight rope. It can lead to all sorts of tricky situations from which one has to use all the ingenuity at one’s disposal to get out of. Some pointers on how to present your best to your boss.

“How To Manage Your Boss”, my first reaction is does this title sound somewhat frivolous? Is it perhaps more appropriate for the Mutt & Jeff comic strip or Busybee’s column or even for a Lucy show? I had to make an effort to remind myself that the high priest of the Management game, Peter Drucker, had even thought it fit enough to cover it in his film series.

What you will read, however, is not the Drucker version, but something for less sophisticated and much more mundane. It has its origin in the down-to-earth reality and is culled from the reservoir of humdrum experiences rather than from exotic, airy fairy Management literature. If you find some of the remarks provocative, it is only to stimulate discussion, which will hopefully prove to be more interesting than the talk itself.

Human relations are of prime importance in any social intercourse. Special studies are made and faculties are established to guide the people to deal with different groups. Here is a tally of help and advice available on the “Getting on Series”:


Subordinates --- --- --- --- --- --- Leadership training
Customers --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Salesmanship courses
Public - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Public Relations
Labour --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Industrial Relations
People in General - --- --- --- --- Behavioural Science Training
Friends and Foes -- --- --- --- --- Dale Carnegie etc.
Children - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Planned parenthood
Wife --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Freud, Master & Johnson, Hite etc.
Boss --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ? ? ?

It would thus be seen that there is a total unawareness of one of the most important aspects of our business relationship – a relation between the Boss and Subordinate. A relationship which has a prime mark on the development of your organisation as also of the subordinates.

None of the Performance Appraisal Forms contain a specific, assessment of the subordinates relations with their bosses. Such an appraisal can be an eye-opener and will reflect whether proper harmony is established between the boss and subordinates. The appraisal will not only reflect the subordinate’s attitude, but also that of the boss, since a boss who cannot establish “just and fair” relations with the subordinates, will be equally condemned, as the subordinates. The boss, for the purpose of this article, is the one who is directly above, in line hierarchy. I would like to emphasis that this article is directed towards how, at a senior rank level, one should establish rapport with the boss and it precludes the relationship at a lower level.

Having defined the area to be covered, I will quickly review some of the methods that might be adopted by subordinates for currying favour with the boss. These methods find no favour, nay, they may adversely affect the relationship with a real professional boss. Some of the tactics adopted are: Singing praises of the boss; acting as His Master’s Voice; sycophancy; offering bouquets and gifts; extra official influence; trying to establish family relationship and through this back door entry, to influence the boss; upward delegation, where the boss is consulted on every small matter; playing politics; trying to circumvent his authority.

No Professional boss will succumb to such frivolous approaches. It must be clearly understood that everyone in the organisation, including the boss, has definite goals and objectives to achieve. The boss tries to reach these goals with the help of the subordinates and hence the boss expects that the efforts of the subordinates are directed towards achieving the same goals.

The efforts of all the subordinates should be directed towards the same general direction. At the same time it is essential that the subordinates’ efforts must be complementary to the boss’s activities and not duplicating the boss’s efforts.

As a dynamic employee, one is expected to take decisions. Once objectives are set and the action plan is drafted, the dynamic employee must be able to function independently. The dynamic employee must, however, keep the boss informed of the progress made and major decisions taken. Circumstances arise when a dynamic employee would like to consult and seek the boss’s approval before taking a decision.

Under such circumstance, the dynamic employee must be discreet in their approach and should not throw the problem in the boss’s lap. The dynamic employee should: specify the challenge clearly and squarely; list out alternative solutions; indicate the alternative the dynamic employee recommends and the reasons thereof, and chalk our the implementation plan.

This simplifies the discussion and decision-making process. In nine out of ten cases the boss would agree to suggested course of action, but if the boss differs, then the boss would have thought of all the pros and cons of the situation as presented by the subordinate.

The boss is also a human being and has his / her own likes and dislikes, his / her whims, his / her obsessions and his / her pet aversions. These, he / she has developed over the years due to the circumstances and environment. he / she has been brought through and a study of his / her background and his / her likes and dislikes is essential. The subordinate should try to coordinate and synchronise his / her efforts to fit into his / her boss’s approach, so as to create harmony in the overall operations. A sense of participative atmosphere must be created without making heavy demands on his/her time. As a corollary to the above approach, one should submit crisp, timely periodic reports, preferably indicating financial results or implications. The boss will indicate his / her reaction and accordingly mid-course corrections may be made as appropriate.

As an employee, the subordinate’s job is not only to execute the given assignment effectively but also to be creative. He / she has to be a self-starter. This little, extra-bit differentiates a dynamic employee from an ordinary employee, who is content to execute whatever is told to him / her. The dynamic employee has to combine the traits of both Yogi and the Commissar.

In plain words, try to make the boss redundant as soon as situation arises. When an organisation stands on its own, without much impetus and directive from the boss, automatically the subordinate will be pushed upwards to shoulder higher responsibilities.

Having seen what one should do as a dynamic employee, here are some pitfalls which must be avoided: Avoid excessive upward delegation as this amounts to abdication of responsibilities; avoid status quo because time is fleeting, new concepts are developing and circumstances are changing and not taking note of such changes could render one outdated and obsolete; do not be overly guided by precedents as the decision taken in the past may not be the best or might have been good at that time; stop throwing names because as a dynamic employee, there is no need to hide under someone else’s garb, do follow the boss blindly as your understanding may be different from his concept.

Try to remember the following points: The boss has not appointed himself, the boss is certainly not occupying the position at the subordinates pleasure; the Company’s interest takes precedence over any individual; the Company’s work can best be carried out through team work, hence, try to cooperate with the boss and also with your colleagues, the Company’s well being and the well being of the employees go hand in hand, hence by following the guideline set by the Company for doing your job independently, in the best manner, you would be serving your own interest.