6 Tips To Reviewing Your Current Relationship (Managing Execs - Your Boss)

The last few weeks and Article posts I provided some guidance to better manage your boss, an executive.  This included the following articles on having a more productive partnership with your boss:  6 Tips To Making The Most of Delegation (Managing Execs - Your Boss), 7 Tips, 3 Things To Do When Responding To Your Agressive or Passive Boss (Managing Execs - Your Boss), and 13 Tips to Manage 7 Different Types of Bosses (Managing Execs - Your Boss).


If you put yourself in an executive’s shoes, then some of the behavioral patterns include lack of time, lots of deadlines (and they were all due yesterday) and have a lot of “action items” to complete on their plate.  Hint: Remember the frustration of not feeling you had “enough time” with your boss?  How about each time you tried to book a 1:1 meeting with your boss and he or she always had to move it out due to a more “important” meeting.  Uh-huh. Read on for an excerpt on “How To Review and Evaluate Your Current Relationship” from the upcoming book, The Art for PMOs to Manage Execs.

People who work together can fall into a fixed routine.  As organizational goals move on and you develop, assess if your and your boss’s behavior patterns are still effective.  If not, help your boss to accept that the current relationship needs to change.    

Assessing What Needs To Change:

Focus on the objectives that you and your boss are responsible for achieving in the organization.  Review how you tackle these responsibilities together and identify when your relationship works well or not so well.  Be specific about what you want to change.  Ask questions about what helps and what hinders you and your boss at work and prepare practical suggestions, with benefits for both of you, to raise in discussion.

Exploring Different Perspectives:  Look at how you and your boss work together from viewpoints other than your own.  Collate the different perspectives and work systematically through each development area with your boss.

Things To Keep In Check:

1. Bonus divided unequally between boss and employees.
2. Effective partnership brings the team more earnings and bonus.  Split equally between boss and employees, both get more than before.

Tips / Guidelines:

1. Change yourself rather than expect your boss to change. 
2. Identify recurring situations that you can improve. 
3. End all discussions with your boss on a positive note. 
4. Give a new boss a fair chance to prove himself.

Do’s and Don’ts to Reviewing Your Current Relationship Do’s Do expect to continuously improve in your job. Do see to understand your boss’s perspective. Do look for a win-win solution for both you and your boss. Do review your existing relationship with your boss, especially if you feel nothing has changed for some time. Don’ts Don’t act without anticipating what your boss might think. Don’t take your boss for granted. Don’t resist change without considering the consequences fully. Don’t forget to review with your boss what the two of you have learned through working together. Moving Towards A Win-Win Solution

After suggesting a change to your boss, listen to his response.  If he does not agree with you, ask questions that entail more than just a yes or no answer, to understand his point of view.  Discuss the benefits of your suggestion and be open to alternative proposals.  Through a two-way discussion with both of you listening to each other, you can find a win-win solution.  If your boss still does not see the need to change, it might be time to start looking for a new job.

Winning As A Team:  An improvement in your working relationship with your boss will make you more effective as a team.  Looking for a win-win solution will provide more gains than you could achieve on your own.

Expecting Change:

Some time in the future you or your boss will move on.  Be prepared for a new relationship and assess your new boss objectively.  If you had a good relationship with your previous boss or worked with him for a long time, it maybe difficult to avoid comparing a new boss with the old one.  To build a good rapport with your new boss, you will need to appreciate fresh ideas and avoid constantly referring to the past.  Both of you will have to invest time to achieve an effective partnership.