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Managing Up

You can leave.


It is always my opening gambit when coaching someone who is struggling with their relationship with their boss.


You can leave them, it might have repercussions, but it is an option, and I always believe that choice is better than no choice.


Assuming you aren't ready for that drastic step yet, here are three moves you can make to get the relationship into a better place.


See them more, not less - In relationships, frequency builds trust. If you have a fractious relationship with your boss, the temptation will be to see them less. Instead, make your interactions short and regular. If you can reach the point where you have a meaningful conversation twice a week, you'll likely notice a positive impact.


Build boundaries - Do everything you can to develop parameters for your relationship. This could include strategic and performance boundaries from KPIs, objectives, role profiles, job descriptions, or cultural guidelines outlined in ways of working. These parameters make it easier to have challenging conversations about what you (and they) should and shouldn't be doing and how you both must behave.


Play the political game - Purposefully build relationships with people who have good relationships with your boss. Use these connections to help you understand more about your boss and how to build a stronger working relationship.


I believe that it is, first and foremost, your manager's responsibility to ensure productive relationships with their people. However, I also understand the negative impact that friction with a line manager can cause.


If they aren't taking steps to fix things, then take the bull by the horns.


And remember, if all else fails, you could leave.


Richard



When you're ready, here are three ways that we can work together.


Interested in working one-on-one with me to transform your confidence and gravitas, step up strategically and build a leadership mindset? Let's set up a 45-minute discovery call by clicking here.


The Aligned Team - ready to transform how your team communicate, break down silos and get better results with the same resources?  Drop me an email with 'ALIGNED Team' in the subject.


If you are an HR Director or Chief People Officer or are responsible for leadership development in your organisation. I would love to share our process for creating the most engaging leadership development programmes on the planet (that pay for themselves in one hit). Email me with Transformational Leadership in the subject line.




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