Managing Your Boss
Working relationships are very important in every work place. More often than not, it is thought that it is the bosses who manage their subordinates due to the top-down nature of many organizations. However, Gabarro and Kotter (1993) indicate that at the workplace, the managers and generally everyone should learn to relate and deal with everyone, especially their bosses.
Managing the boss implies knowing the proper ways in which to work with the boss so as to benefit the individuals, the boss and the company as a whole. They also indicate that managers should learn to deal with the managers since these are the people who can link them to the rest of the organization (Gabarro and Kottler, 1993). Therefore, if the individuals use the bosses as the link, they can have proper priorities and even secure the resources that they need. As such, it is argued that the boss should not be seen as an institutional enemy, but should be taken as a partner in the job.
There are strategies that ca be used to achieve this. One of them understands the boss. That is, the manager understands the boss’ and the manner in which the boss works. this can help in ensuring that the relationship is not broken but enhanced even the more. Besides this, the manager should also understand himself. Understanding the self and also understanding the boss helps in integrating the different methods of the two and also coming up with the best way in which to make the relationship strong. This is the strategy that leads to the creation of compatible working styles (Gabarro and Kottler, 1993).
In conclusion, the article tried to explain how the manager can create a productive and effective relationship with the boss. The main objective of the relationship is to ensure that the relationship is productive and benefits the manager, the boss and the organization as a whole.
Reference
Gabarro, J.J. & Kottler, J.P. (1993). Managing Your Boss. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 71(3), p. 150-157. (Attached)
