Managing Expectations

I have often heard people complain about their bosses that they are unpredictable & inconsistent that they do not know how to maneuver given different types of situations.?This calls for a great deal of agility & smartness as otherwise one ends up complaining and cursing the Organisation & workplace! Is this a problem many of you are facing? I am sure your Boss would be having the same complaint as well!

Every corporate employee must undergo this rigor at some point of time in their career and it’s left to one’s imagination as to what successful Leaders would advise you in this regard. Is there a quick fix solution or do you leave it to destiny & handle things as it comes? Well, I can share my experience if that will be of some help to you!

Early in my career, I was overseeing a division in a factory. We shut down the Plant once in 6 months to carry out maintenance activities. I was then a young Engineer full of ideas and hence decided to carry out certain modifications to improve the Plant efficiency. My Boss who came to know of it later told me that I should not have done without consulting & taking clearance from him and anything could have gone wrong, I found his argument valid. The next time around I promptly informed him in writing about the modifications I wanted to carry out & requested for his suggestions & approval (those were the days of duplicate books & not emails, if some of you veterans would remember) but to my surprise I did not get any reply from him for many days. Finally, I took the courage to go up to him and to seek his approval to go ahead. To my utter shock & surprise he shot back saying, “Are you not an Engineer? You should be capable enough to take a decisions on your own & undertake these activities instead of seeking my clearance”! Believe me, I was rattled quite a bit & I did not know what will I do in such situations in future!

Is this what you describe as unpredictable or inconsistent? – if yes, how do you handle these type of situations? After spending several sleepless nights & talking to my well-wishers I hit upon a plan wondering whether it would work or bounce back at me? So the next time around, I sent a note to my Boss, also roping in 2 others - my Engineering Head & Quality Head, with a clear message to revert to me in 4 days with their suggestions or else I am going ahead with my proposals! The Plan did work much to my respite, but the question is, will it work each time? What if your boss does a countermove like in the game of chess & checkmates you!

However, today’s young leaders are very Professional. They are more task & result oriented but some of them lack human touch which could be the other side of the coin. In your career, one must anticipate working with several bosses with different traits. You cannot be complaining all through the way, lest both your career & personal life should be ruined.

You may try & adopt one or more of the following guiding Principles while dealing with seniors at work:

• Ensure you are thorough with your subject when you go for a meeting or when asked to make a Presentation
• Never go with half-hearted measures, it’s better that you get actively involved while preparing for the meeting or Presentations involving your Seniors rather than delegating it to someone else
• Always take notes when you meet your Boss. You will observe that in most cases your Boss never takes notes when he calls for a meeting (at least I didn’t) as this would help you during subsequent follow up Meetings
• The Golden rule “Boss is always right” is not always true – You should find a way to get across your point of view if it’s a different from your Bosses’
• You should speak when you are required to, many Executives prefer to keep quiet in order to avoid confrontation – this will in no way help your cause or your Growth
• If you feel your Boss is irrational & unrealistic, you may challenge them – But this is the last resort as you should be extremely clear of what & why you are doing & most importantly should have the Blessings of another Senior if it comes to the question of who is right?
• If the Boss wants to have viewpoints of his respective Team members, never agree with the majority if you have a different point of view – you may be shouted down but that should not deter you from speaking up!
• The old saying “No Guts No Glory”, holds good in today’s Management fundamentals, if you want to grow into a Top Leader, you must be exceptional & stand out!
• Last of it all, if you are demoralized, please start looking out for opportunities & move rather than continuing, thereby risking your Professional & personal life

Cheers & Best

DISCLAIMER – The Author is not responsible for any eventuality that may happen to you as a consequence of challenging your Boss – It will be at your own risk!!!