Bosses: how to handle them

Bosses may be human but you still need a certain tact to handle them. Here's an excerpt from a Career article that we dug up from the JobStreet.com vault:

If you don’t get on with your boss, your daily working life can be an absolute nightmare. Your work can be affected, your private life can suffer and each day can become unbearable. Some people will never get on with their bosses, there may be a personality clash, they may have different working ideals, and they may want different things for the company. But you have to get on in your working environment and learn how to handle your boss, for he/she is often the person who can make or break you.

Get your boss on your side. Remember your boss is also human. They have working pressures that they have to put up with from their superiors, they need to be able to trust you to know that they can depend on you and know that if they ask you to do something it will be done well and efficiently. One of the key ways in which to get your boss on your side is to get him/her to trust you. Trust is key to a good working relationship, if they can rely on you to do a good job then you are laughing.

Richard Peters was a sales executive for a well-known telecommunications company. On a daily basis he had to meet sales targets and ensure all sales leads were covered. His job was demanding and highly pressurised and his boss was continually hounding him to meet the targets over and above expectations.

One week his boss had to go away for an overseas meeting and he was left in charge of the fort and a small sales team. Richard took control immediately and realised he had been given the chance to prove himself. It had been a tough time in the sales department recently and part of the reason his boss had to go abroad to the head office in New York was to try and see how they could resolve the sales problem.

Richard explained: :It was a worrying time, the stress in the office was immense, morale was low and it seemed we were continually banging our heads against brick walls. Yet I knew we had a good product and there really was no good reason why we could not sell it. I knew that some of the sales team had found our boss very difficult to work for. His stress had made them jittery and they had become nervous and found it increasingly difficult to be confident in their work. I decided to address this from the outset and encourage confidence and set up an incentive project. My father had a chalet in the Seychelles and I told the team that whoever sold the most that week would get a week in the chalet, all expenses paid. I decided to take a chance and pay for the flight myself to whoever won. That week was incredible, not only did we meet sales targets over and above expectations, but we also sold so much that we resolved the sales problems over the previous four months. The team was so encouraged that they went from strength to strength."

For the next few weeks after that their sales continued to grow and with that so did their spirits. Richard’s boss was absolutely delighted, it actually came out that his boss’s job had been on the line and he could not find a way to sort out the sales problem. Richard was promoted instantly and for his loyalty and commitment to the company was rewarded with a hefty salary and bonus. His boss thanked him profusely and they have been solid working colleagues ever since.

Comments

[Dawn]

I have a boss whom nag like hell. He demotivates all of us. Each time he nags, it cames along with blames & more blames. If the boss can only think of how to protect himself & make himself look good in front of his boss all the time. What can we do to rectify this, especially morale is so low. He doesn't trust or care for anyone except himself. The only thing I can think of is not to reapeat his mistake when I become the boss!

[sabriena amrie]

My boss is a big hypocrite. he will talk bad about you at the back of the employee. And when the employee is infront he blames others for not giving co-operation. But actually he is the one
who always never appreciate and talk bad abouot his staff. How can we manage him. Please advice.

[siti azimah]

well, it's true sometimes certain boss just to get the credit for what we did but when things not turn out well, they blame the employees. so what we can say? doing or not doing it the same thing. they just do not know how to appreciate. and they don't know how to become boss, just nag and nag when things not turn out well. when things getting critical, they start blaming us. so what lah.

[Dan]

Well, after reading this Richard's story, i suppose it was more of how to motivate your surborniates & team rather how to boss. I wonder where Richard get all the expenses from? Approval from his superior? Well, not every company is being so supportive on motivation. A good example is the MNC i work for, they even create penalty to penalize sales people. To ask for motivation for within? Fat hope ! Not even the customer is getting them. So i would say after reading this story, lucky Richard.