Whether you’ve just begun a new job or are planning a transition in the near future, it’s crucial to impress your boss. In order to thrive in your new position, you’ll need to understand how your supervisor ticks, and what you can do to complement that workstyle. Your career may depend on it.
Managing Up
There’s a new buzzword circling in the CRE and other circles: managing up. Essentially, it means to synchronize with your boss to ensure a mutually beneficial workflow. And it is absolutely key to thriving in your new role and maximizing this career opportunity.
To manage up means to bring out the best in your supervisor and yourself as an employee through proper communication, timeline management, proactive intent, etc. If you and your boss can get on the same page, your relationship will benefit from it – and so will your career.
When done right, managing up will make your boss’s job easier. But it doesn’t mean babysitting him or her. Your goal is to simply learn your boss’s preferred communication styles and methods, expectations, and other considerations. Your thoughtfulness and attentiveness to fostering a healthy work relationship in turn generates higher productivity and a more fulfilling career experience.
If you’re planning to upgrade your CRE career in the near future, or if you’ve recently been hired into a new role, here are five great ways to properly manage up and impress your boss.
Impress Your New Boss
1. Do Get to Know Your Boss
Take proactive steps to learn about your boss. What is he or she trying to accomplish in this organization? What brought them to CRE? What role do you play in his or her mission? Don’t pry, but make time to chat and learn about your new boss. Information is power, and the more you know in this situation, the more effective and helpful you will be.
2. Don’t Get Political
While you want to become a helpful asset and trusted colleague for your supervisor, the goal isn’t to choose sides in office politics. No favoritism. Remember, you are a professional. And maintaining respectful relationships with management is only part of your job. You should nurture equally respectful management with other colleagues.
3. Get Detailed
Good communication is essential in the workplace. Whenever you are assigned a new responsibility or task, immediately establish the details – what, how, when? If you aren’t given a timeline on a project, for example, offer to have a draft or outline ready by a certain time. This will open the conversation and show initiative.
4. Be Helpful
In many ways, your job is to help make your boss’s job easier. So ask! When you notice your supervisor is distracted or a little absent minded, stop and ask, “Is there anything I can do to make your job a little easier?” Show care and concern, and check in from time to time to support the team mission.
Next time you ask for input or help, impress your boss by providing a few suggested options for him or her to choose from. Management has a lot to think about. The less you put on their plate, the better. Showing the forethought to make your situation a multiple-choice scenario will endear your boss to you and demonstrate your value.