5 Ways to Manage Your Boss

You define how you want to be seen in the workplace. One important area is how you manage your interactions with your boss. By being proactive and consistent, you have the opportunity to gain trust and respect for your work with those who make the big decisions.

• Tell the truth. When it’s easy and when it is hard. You don’t need to be brutal, but you must be clear.  Calmly noting, “I am telling you the truth – this situation needs to change. We need to find a way to…” goes a long way to build trust and show your grit.

• Always include solutions. Realization is only the first step to a solution. Leaders soon tire of being told what is going wrong or what needs to change. Be the team member that shares your perspective on the problem, but also offers a solution or ways to improve the situation by using existing resources.

• Offer to assist. Make sure that you really mean it! Leaders appreciate when an associate is aware of larger challenges and is willing to deploy their talents in a flexible and strategic manner.

• Fail fast. Analyze, evaluate, and admit when something is not working. If you see that a project is going south, step forward to define the issue and provide options for changing course – your boss will love you!

• Bring a cookie. Not chocolate chip. But bring good news, share success, call out something that is working! Leaders often spend their days dealing with problems, and getting a cookie now and then can be uplifting.

At A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, we help nonprofit leaders (and their staff) develop habits that set their organization on a path toward long-term growth. If you’d like your staff to reflect the characteristics noted here, give us a call!