Stanley Bing's Tips for Managing Up
Not everything Stanley Bing writes is satirical (though everything he writes for Fortune's back page is). For instance, he regularly offers practical advice at BNET.com that is down-to-earth and unhoneyed, while also being amusingly expressed.On January 12 the issue was how to get one's good work noticed by the boss. After encouraging the correspondent who wrote in with this question to familiarize himself with his boss's likes, dislikes, and habits, he goes on to list ten tips (abbreviated here):
1. Talk to the boss every day you can. ... Don’t wear him or her out. Just begin to establish the idea that you are a human being, not just a function ...
2. Notice when he or she comes in to the office, and then make sure you're there too.
3. Wander by his or her office now and then, and stop in for a chat if he or she doesn’t seem to mind.
4. Look for opportunities to make your boss’s life easier.
5. Never present a problem without also bringing along a couple of solutions.
6. Tell the boss the whole truth.
7. Don’t whine. If he or she treats you mean now and then, just accept it.
8. If there’s anything going on that requires a volunteer, let it be you.
9. Show your appreciation. Anybody that tells you that sucking up — done properly and with restraint — is wrong ... is simply advising you to disarm one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal.
10. Share glory, but not blame. When there is praise due for something well done, let your boss have the credit, even if you deserve it. If there is blame, accept it, even if the boss deserves it.
The above gives you a taste of Bing's style. If you want a further dose, you can visit his website at stanleybing.com.
Labels: Upward influence
posted by Karen Nelson @ 11:15 PM
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