The dilemma: My new boss tries too hard to please everyone higher up the ladder and accepts projects at short notice, which means I’m left working really long hours. I once commented that a project should have gone to another department and she reacted badly. Now I feel as if I have to prove my team credentials. What should I do?
Stuart Duff, partner at the occupational psychologists Pearn Kandola
www.pearnkandola.com
During your career you will work with people with different management styles. It is essential that you develop techniques to influence and challenge colleagues without causing distress or disruption.
Advertisement
Try to avoid making observations at tense moments. Instead arrange a one-to-one meeting to talk about how you see the situation and to explore how the team might better prioritise its work and achieve results. Do some research beforehand and try to offer constructive ideas.
Secondly, ask yourself why your boss is accepting last- minuute projects. Use this to think how you might encourage her to consider the team’s perspective.
You’re not going to get on with every manager you work with, few people ever do. But in every situation you have the opportunity to be pragmatic, honest and constructive in changing your situation.
Advertisement
Adam Nicoll, commerce and industry manager at Badenoch & Clark, a recruitment and HR training consultancy
www.badenochandclark.com
It is important with any new working relationship to set a platform for regular, honest communication. Establishing a feedback loop in a calm and private environment means you are less likely to receive an emotional response from your boss. The alternative is that matters fester until such time as one or other of you explodes, or you feel obliged to leave.
The other action you can take is to provide complete visibility of your team’s project pipeline. What would be useful to your boss, you and your colleagues, is to have a solid grasp of the team’s workload, productivity and timeframe for project delivery. Armed with this information, she might be less likely to take every project on board, because she will know that it is not do-able. You will empower her to be able to say no; you will have made her a better boss, for which she should be grateful.
Do you agree with this advice? Write to us at career@thetimes.co.uk