Help your boss manage - by managing them

Employees must be encouraged to proactively ‘manage upwards’ if they are to support their bosses in performing more effectively, research has revealed.

 
According to a survey undertaken by management and sales training consultancy Krauthammer, some 36% of workers feel that their bosses act in a penalising or dismissive fashion.
 
Although 95% would like their managers to jointly work with them on analysing task-related problems in order to help them see the situation in a new light, only 45% do so in practice. Just over a third of bosses simply present their own analysis for the employees’ agreement.
 
Moreover, while 92% of personnel would love their manager to admit their mistakes spontaneously, a mere 48% do so. Around 28% simply dismiss the importance of the error, while the rest admit a mistake has been made but either refuse to take responsibility or blame others.
 
But Steffi Gande, who works in Krauthammer’s research department, said: “At least two people are involved in a relationship. Employees can and should take a proactive role in supporting managers to do better.”
 
As a result, she advised that workers help their managers to act more supportively by presenting positive information alongside any negative news in order to make praise more possible and likely. They should also help them to listen more actively by checking their understanding of what had been said.
 
But seeing the individual behind any mistake will also help, Gande said. If managers trust personnel to remain impartial and constructive if things go wrong, they are more likely to own up to errors. Finally, staff should follow the ‘Oscar’ rule of giving feedback – ‘I have observed (O)...particularly in this situation (S)...with the possible consequence(C). I suggest the following alternative (A).....resulting in (R)....’, she said.