Guide to succeed with a new BOSS!!

We all know it's true: Managing up is as important as managing down. That's especially true when you are starting a relationship with a new boss. 

When I switched my first job, I was apprehensive about the new person I was going to assist in next company. Then I came across this piece of writing where HBS Professor Michael Watkins discussed the importance of clearly defining goals with your superior.

It helped me.. hope it helps you too.. 

Working with your new boss

Your new boss will have more impact than anyone else over whether you succeed or fail. Your boss establishes benchmarks for your success, interprets your actions for other key players, and controls resources you need. Building a productive working relationship with him or her while you establish your mandate and negotiate for resources is a clear early priority.

 

Defining your goals

When you think about working with your new boss, keep the following goals in mind:

 

Clarify mutual expectations early. Begin managing expectations right away. You are in trouble if your boss expects you to fix things fast when you know that the business has serious structural problems. So it is wise to get bad news on the table early and to lower unrealistic expectations. Be careful to assess your new organization's capacity for change before making ironclad commitments to your new boss.

 

Secure commitments for the resources you need. In conjunction with establishing goals, begin to negotiate for the key resources - people, funding, and knowledge; you need to succeed. Don't commit to goals without getting corresponding commitments on resources. Otherwise you won't have much bargaining power.

 

Aim for early wins in areas important to the boss. Whatever your own priorities, identify what the boss cares about most and pursue results in those areas. That way, your boss will feel some ownership of your success. But don't make the mistake of doing things you consider misguided or trivial. In part, your job is to shape your boss's perceptions of what can and should be achieved.

 

Aim for good marks from those whose opinions your boss respects. This is an aspect of building supportive internal coalitions. Your boss may have pre-existing relationships with people who are now your subordinates. If so, their assessments of you will take on additional importance.

 

Establishing how you will work together

It's essential to figure out how you and your boss will work together. Your preferences may differ, such as over how much information the boss wants (and you want to give) and how involved the boss wants to be (and you want him or her to be) in the details of what you are doing. Rather than allowing misunderstandings to complicate your relationship, spend some time at the start discussing how you will work together. Even if you don't develop a close personal bond, doing so will help you create a productive working relationship.

 

Matching your requests for support to your situation

The type of support you need from your boss will vary depending on the business situation you are facing. The role of the boss in a startup is very different than in turnaround, realignment, or sustaining success situations. So you need to gain consensus on the type of situation. Then you have to think carefully about what role you would like your new boss to play and what kinds of support you will ask for.

 

Living by the golden rule

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You will almost certainly hire new people as your subordinates. Just as you need to develop a productive relationship with your new boss, they need to work effectively with you. In the past, have you done a good job of helping subordinates make their own transitions? What might you do differently this time?

 

Planning for five conversations

Your relationship with your new boss will be built through a series of conversations. These conversations begin before you accept the new position and continue through the time before entry and on into your transition. It is critically important that you cover certain fundamental subjects in these conversations. In fact, it is worth planning for five distinct conversations with your new boss.

 

The situational diagnosis conversation 

In this conversation you seek to understand how your new boss sees the business situation. Is it a turnaround or a startup or a realignment or a sustaining success situation? How did the organization get to this point? What are the relevant factors; both soft and hard that make this a challenge? What resources within the organization do you have to draw upon? Naturally your view may be different than your boss's, but it is essential that you understand how he or she sees the situation.

 

The expectations conversation

In this conversation you seek to understand and negotiate expectations. What are the few key things that your new boss needs you to accomplish in the short term and medium term? What will constitute success? When? How will it be measured? Here again, you may come to believe that your boss's expectations are unrealistic and have to work to reset them. Also you should take care, as part of your broader effort to secure early wins, to under-promise and over-deliver.

 

The style conversation 

In this conversation you work to understand how you and your new boss can best interact on an ongoing basis. How does she prefer to be communicated with? Face to face? in writing? By voice mail or e-mail? How often? What kinds of decisions does he want to be involved in and where can you make the call on your own? How do your styles differ and what are the implications for how you should interact?

 

The resources conversation

In this conversation you negotiate for critical responses. What is it that you need to be successful? What do you need your boss to do? The resources in question need not be funding or personnel. In a realignment situation, for example, your boss can play a critical role in helping you get the organization to confront the need for change.

 

The personal development conversation

Finally, you need to discuss how your time in this job will contribute to your personal development. Are there projects or special assignments that you could get involved in (without sacrificing focus)? Are there courses or programs that would strengthen your capabilities?

 

In practice, these five conversations are interwoven and take place over time. But there is a sequential logic. Early conversations should focus on situational diagnosis, expectations, and style. As you learn more, you can move to resources, revisiting situation and expectations as necessary. When you feel the relationship is reasonably well established, you can begin the personal development conversation.

Jumping Jobs??

You're tired all the time; you don't want to get out of bed in the morning; you can't concentrate at work anymore. Guess what, you could be one of millions of people that need to consider a job or career change.

If you even think you are starting to feel 'burned out' or uninterested in what you are doing make some time for a real conversation with yourself - starting with the question. 

"What do I really want to do with the rest of my life?" 

Most people consider themselves lucky to have a job. But it may be time to start asking just how happy you are with it. Gone are the days when you could expect to work for the same company all your life and then receive a pension that paid income for life. 

As against older people who are at the end of their careers and are comfortable in their existing set-up, younger people get most frustrated in the same organisation after a couple of years. 

Also the same comfort level can be termed stagnation. Hence they are even ready to take risks and move to a different industry. So if you are ready for the switch, first do intense personal assessment and consider the following tips: 

Find reasons

You need to pinpoint why you are looking for a change and whether you have the right reasons. It is better compensation or benefits or is it dissatisfaction with career potential? 

If you are ambivalent about leaving, career consultants say there are a number of red flags that signal unhappiness at work. 

The root of your discontent could be linked to anything from dysfunctional relationships at work to a personal clash with the organisation's values. It could be lack of close relationships, either with colleagues or your boss that could be disheartening. 

A simple change can often be the remedy to your workplace woes. When contemplating a change, think about classes you took in college and even high school that appealed to you and left you inspired.

What's the way you like it? 

You needn't change the organization. Maybe what you do is not what you like. The solution could be as simple as moving to a different department. Voice your commitment to the organisation and express how much you'd like to stay.

Then ask about other positions that might suit you better. When considering a professional makeover, don't think in terms of job titles. 

Those can be limiting and can feed people's fears that they're pigeonholing themselves into doing one thing for the rest of their lives. Don't feel pressured to stick to one job. There are options beyond those that we can visualise. We just need to seek them out.

How does the industry look at you?

There is no rule as such, but put yourself in the position of a potential interviewer and think how you would react to your own CV. 

While your current job may not be right for you in the long term, it is in your own interest to develop your role and responsibility as much as you can before you move on. Interviewers will naturally want to know what you have achieved and what has made you decide to change jobs. 

Your application will be much more attractive if you can show evidence of your ability to manage your own personal and career development. Most important of all, you can use this experience to ensure that your second job is a better fit. You should be much clearer on what is important to you and what you have got to offer. 

Consider your finances

If you're unemployed and bills are stacking up, you might take the first offer that comes along, even if it isn't perfect. But if you are considering a job change, make sure you aren't loading yourself up with debt. 

Too much debt causes you to be more vulnerable during a job transition. Therefore, get your financial picture in order and give yourself a cushion of about six months. But you should know what you are worth on the open market. 

Get connected 

Stay up-to-date on technology, industry trends, customer needs and any other factors that are important to your personal and professional self-development. Upgrade your knowledge and skills in ways that are consistent with your own future interests and career development. 

Find out what's happening within your industry. Those who struggle the most are just in tune with their own little circle. You may also consider contacting a head hunter, and make sure the headhunter is working in your best interest.