Four Ways to Help Your Boss Be Better

Four Ways to Help Your Boss Be Better Rare is the worker who has never had a badeanstalt anfhrer. Almost everyone has encountered at least one in their career, and pop culture abounds with examples, from the affably incompetent (Dunder Mifflins Michael Scott) to the downright tyrannical (Miranda Priestly ofThe Devil Wears Prada). Rare, too, is the boss who has never made a mistake the boss who, for all intents and purposes, is not a bad person per se not even necessarily a bad boss overall but who, nevertheless, makes their employees lives difficult through some poor management practices. Maybe they micromanage a little too much. Maybe they dont payenoughto attention to what employees are doing. There are tons of little ways for bosses to accidentally become the thorns in their employees sides.Today, I want to talk about these bosses the bosses who are goofing in some way. Specifically, I want to talk about what employees can do when their bosses are blowing it. Below, I have four tips for improving life under a bumbling manager.(Note Im not talking about abusive, terrible bosses. At a certain point, a bad manager becomes irredeemable, and you just have to leave. Instead, were talking about bosses who can be redeemed through careful employee action.)1. Make Sure Your Boss Knows Exactly What You DoMany bosses especially those with higher numbers of direct reports dont exactly know what their employees do on a daily basis. They may have hired you, they may be in charge of overlandseeing you, but they have a lot on their own plates, and they cant always find time to keep up with what youre working on. Unfortunately, this can lead to some bosses misunderstanding just how much work their employees do. They can see slackers where there are none.Take, for example, a job like mine I write an article every day for Recruiter.com. To some, this seems easy crank out 1000 or so wor ds a day? That shouldnt take eight hours You should do moraAnd yet the majority of my day is spent conducting research, reaching out to sources, holding and transcribing interviews, and otherwise generally keeping my writing well informed. To the untrained eye, it could seem like I am a slacker eight hours in the office, and nothing to show for it but one articleSome bosses, unaware of how much intangible work goes into producing certain tangible results, may come down hard on employees without realizing that these employees are meeting or exceeding reasonable expectations. My boss, for instance, could demand I write three or four articles a day. Sure, in terms of sheer word counts, I could pull that off, but if my boss wants the articles to be strong, well-written, insightful, and engaging, then hell want to give me the time it takes to write a really good article (which, thankfully, he does).If you find yourself facing a boss who doesnt quite seem to understand what you accomplis h during your time in the office, then I suggest this tactic that I learned about from Reddit nutzer Zelaphas. To quote the user Every Friday, send an email to your boss, BCC your personal email, with the followingWhat you accomplished this weekWhat youre struggling with or need advice onWhat you aim to accomplish next weekSend this Friday morning so if necessary your boss has time to discuss. Then Monday morning, stop your boss in the hall and ask if he has any comments or questions on your summary email. If so, be sure to send out a revised one right away for documentation and records.Do this for any job you have. Your boss will grow to love you and think of you as hard working and organized. Even if he never reads the emails or you dont always get everything on your to do list done, youll have documentation on your side and the sense of getting things done.Any other ways of documenting your work, the better. Communication is key, so if your boss thinks you arent working, maybe it s less about the amount of things done and more about the kind or order of things done.If you regularly keep your boss updated on your workflow and achievements, then your boss will have a better understanding of what goes into doing your job properly. Theyll see how much time and effort your projects require, and theyll be able to adjust their expectations accordingly.2. Make Sure Everyone Else Knows What Youre Doing, TooChances are, you dont work in a vacuum. Even if youre the only person in your department, you likely have colleagues around you during the workday. Share your work with these people. Dont think of it as an act of vanity and dont pursue it as one, either. Rather, share your work with your colleagues because you want to make sure the office knows what the company is up to at all times.You dont have to be a flashy braggart have simple conversations with your coworkers about what youre up to, and invite them to share as well. Solicit one another for feedback. Build a whole network within the office, connecting each member of the organization to one another by sharing experiences, plans, achievements, results, and ideas.Doing this can create an open network between the members of your organization, facilitating a freer, more productive flow of ideas, which can lead to better results. Ultimately, your boss will become a part of these network, too. Once your boss is tapped in, theyll have a better handle on how the company runs, and they can adjust their behaviors and managing styles accordingly.For more on this idea, see John Steppers posts about working out loud.3. Remember Your Boss is a PersonPeople are imperfect. We make mistakes all the time. Your boss is the same way imperfect, complicated, messy, full of their own personal baggage.But what does this have to do with you as an employee? To answer that question, Ill point you to the work of Martha Austin, who has some interesting insights into how we can acknowledge our bosses humanity and use this knowledge to better the workplace. I wont rehash what Austin says, because I think she says it better than I could. Instead, Ill simply urge you to read the linked article.4. Above All Stay ProfessionalYes, your boss is a person. Yes, there are ways you can help your boss be better. But remember this in the office hierarchy, your boss is still your boss. They oversee you. You report to them. You two have a professional relationship, so be professional about it.Dont try to get too personal with the boss (unless youre in a company with that kind of culture). Dont try to get one over on your boss. Dont try to destroy the office hierarchy. Do your job, do it well, and simply try to demonstrate this to your boss. This is exactly why something like Steppers working out loud is such a good idea it creates networks between people without stepping on the toes of someone who could make or break your career.Theres plenty you can do to help your boss be better, but that doesnt change the fact that your boss oversees you. It isnt the other way around.