Book Club Chapter 4: All About the Boss
If you’re just joining our Book Club series, you’ll want to start here.
Welcome back.
Let’s get into Chapter 4. It’s all about the Boss.
The most important relationship you have at work is almost always the one you have with your boss. It’s so important, there a whole chapter dedicated to it.
You’ve had successful relationships. Maybe the odd unsuccessful relationship. In each of these you’ve developed skills. This chapter offers tools, insights and exercises to help build on those skills. So let’s get started.
Here’s what stood out for me this week:
We start off with a quick caution for those of you in a new role, but same boss. Things will need to change, so don’t skip this chapter. It’s a mistake leaders make (p. 81), so have a look and select what you need.
Fundamentals
Relationships can be tricky. Here are several insights (p. 81-84) to keep things on track. Regular contact, no surprises, adapt and take 100% responsibility are key points. They will set you up for success, even if your boss is a bit “quirky”.
5 Conversations
While this is a great framework, it’s a bit formal. If it feels overwhelming, like there’s too much information, skim through this section. Then take a few minutes to think about your past 3-5 jobs. I’m sure you’ve figured out a shared assessment, expectations, etc before. How did you do that? Capture what you remember.
Now you can begin to build on those experiences with these new ideas. Q1 on p. 97 might help.
Situation: The main thing is to ensure a common understanding of the problem. This is where the past/present/future tool from the last chapter would come in handy.
The STARS model on p. 81 and Table 4.2 (p.87) offer more direction on this topic.
Expectations: Confirm expectations early and often. If you find yourself with a boss who can’t articulate what success looks like, work together to figure it out. Learn her priorities and keep your antenna up for untouchables.
Resources: That STARS model (p. 89) sure comes in handy.
Style: Let’s be clear - this happens over weeks/months, not days. Pay attention to this - I see problems arise from this much too often. While this section has a lot of good ideas on what to align styles around, it’s a bit over-complicated when it comes to finding out answers. Ask your boss directly. It’s fast, easy and shows that you’re making an effort. Unless you’re working for a jerk, your new boss will appreciate it.
The section on sandbox is insightful. This is all about trust. And that takes time. You’ll get the autonomy you want, but might need an extra helping of patience. Some leaders need more time than others to develop trust.
Personal Development: I’d put this on hold for the first 90 days. Focus instead on getting feedback. Some leaders don’t know how to give good feedback, so you may need a simple prompt (or two):
“Anything holding me back?”
“What should I be doing more of/less of?”
You’ll be starting with the situational/expectations/style conversations. Revisit expectations conversations often. Later the resources conversation And Personal Development - I’d put that on hold.
And a few more points
Multiple bosses and working @ at distance are worth a read. For those of you with a virtual boss, I can’t emphasize enough how important in-person meetings are. Early and often. It takes so much more effort to build relationships by phone. And email is a minefield of potential misunderstandings.
90 Day Plan (p.95-96): Great idea, right? Give it a try - a rough draft is perfect. When you finish the book, go back through your notes. Add tasks about learning, strategy, etc in the appropriate section. Then re-organize to create a simple reference sheet and/or checklist.
Skip the team section (p.96) for now. There’s an upcoming chapter on teams, so revisit once you’re done that.
Michael
Wasn’t he determined? Style mismatch for the ages and he made it work. Here are a few takeaways:
100%: Without any help from his boss, he found ways to make the relationship work. Took 100% responsibility for it.
Style differences become performance issues. Before you have a track record the only thing your boss has to judge you on is what they see. That 90 Day Plan was critical. His boss switched from judging his style to judging his efforts.
Remember the action imperative way back in the Introduction? Well this time it was coming from the boss. The 90 Day Plan reduced the pressure, which allowed Michael the time he needed to deliver results.
What were your takeaways?
Chapter Questions (p.97-98)
Great question set. You may have answered Q1 earlier. Q6 - focus on skills to develop for your current challenges. And skip Q7 - revisit after the chapter on teams.
Conclusion
Well ……. that was a lot. I hope you find yourself with one of those effortless relationships. Fingers crossed.
But in case you don’t, work through this chapter and you’ll be well-prepared.
That’s it for Chapter 4…… next week Chapter 5