Today's Career Tips
Treat Your Boss Like a Client
June 26, 2009
http://www.careerguide.ph/article/show/Treat-Your-Boss-Like-a-Client
Many people complain that their boss doesn’t understand, appreciate or mentor them. But these same people can show great patience and resilience in dealing with difficult customers. Therefore, a useful mindset is to pretend that your boss is your biggest client. Just as a company serves a customer and gets paid for it, you serve your boss (and by extension, the company) and get paid for it. The real question is: how well are you serving our boss?
Know what your boss needs. Basic salesmanship calls for knowing the customer’s needs before he starts his pitch. Similarly, be an astute student of your boss’ needs. If you are new to the department, usually the boss briefs you on your responsibilities and deliverables. As time goes by, get a “feel” of what your boss wants. For example, he needs you to prepare a weekly report. But experience will tell you whether he wants only bullet points or all the details.
As you get more familiar with your company, try to think like the owner himself. (Unless, of course, your boss is the owner of the company.) That way, you will have a pretty good idea what the boss of your boss wants. For example, the owner wants your boss to expand the market, cut costs, or improve efficiency. Then find ways to help your boss fulfil what his boss wants.
An oft-forgotten aspect of helping your boss succeed is the ability to get along with others. Cultivate a network of people who have the information, skill or authority you need to serve your boss. If your boss is leading a team and you are one of the members, be a good team player. If you are difficult to work with, you are giving your boss what he doesn’t need – the proverbial hole in his head. Even if you are leaving the team (for example, it was only for a special project or you are changing employers), don’t burn your bridges. Remain in good terms with your colleagues.
Be pro-active. I contract a particular pest-control agency for my house because it takes time and trouble to remind me of the next inspection or treatment. True, it is a shrewd way to generate repeat orders. But complacent suppliers would simply spray our house, get our money and wait for us to call them back. This agency relieves me of the problem of monitoring the integrity of my house.
In the same manner, delight your boss by doing things with minimum supervision. You grasp not only what he needs, but when he needs it. For example, your role is to prepare reports for your boss’ weekly or monthly meetings. Have a rhythm or system so that he knows you are working on them without him checking on you. Tip: give him enough time to review your work (and for revisions) before those meetings. Lead your boss to think that he can take a vacation because everything is under control.
Anticipate your boss’ questions. You may not always cover all the issues (I know I don’t), but your batting average should improve over time. For example, don’t just crunch numbers like a robot. Do your best to understand what each number means or where they came from. Later, when your boss asks you to explain your figures, you are ready.
Think of contingency plans. Murphy’s Law says that if anything can go wrong, it will. When you are handling a project, anticipate the bottlenecks. This would be much better than having the project fall into pieces and suffer your boss’ displeasure. Do you need back-up sources of material or manpower? Are your timetables realistic? Does your plan make economic sense? Here again is where your network can help you a lot.
Exceed his expectations. Have you ever felt like royalty when someone gave you extra-mile service? On my mom’s birthday last year, I treated her to dinner in a five-star hotel. The restaurant manager not only helped me select the menu and reserved the best table, he waived the price of a noodle dish and – get this – gave us a luscious cheesecake with mangoes, strawberries and kiwi piled up over the icing! I was expecting maybe a free slice of Black Forest, but he went all out with that cake.
Have the same spirit as that manager. Do more than expected. For salespeople, it can be obvious: beat your quota. But other ways include turning in a report earlier (without sacrificing quality), offering solutions than merely presenting the problems, or learning more about your industry without being spoon-fed by your boss.
Salespeople who take excellent care of their customers are rewarded with repeat purchases and referrals. Treating your boss-client in the same way fosters mutual trust and respect, which can lead to greater responsibilities. This is an indispensable aspect of career advancement which would not be possible had we stayed in our comfort zones.
So… is your customer happy?
Know what your boss needs. Basic salesmanship calls for knowing the customer’s needs before he starts his pitch. Similarly, be an astute student of your boss’ needs. If you are new to the department, usually the boss briefs you on your responsibilities and deliverables. As time goes by, get a “feel” of what your boss wants. For example, he needs you to prepare a weekly report. But experience will tell you whether he wants only bullet points or all the details.
As you get more familiar with your company, try to think like the owner himself. (Unless, of course, your boss is the owner of the company.) That way, you will have a pretty good idea what the boss of your boss wants. For example, the owner wants your boss to expand the market, cut costs, or improve efficiency. Then find ways to help your boss fulfil what his boss wants.
An oft-forgotten aspect of helping your boss succeed is the ability to get along with others. Cultivate a network of people who have the information, skill or authority you need to serve your boss. If your boss is leading a team and you are one of the members, be a good team player. If you are difficult to work with, you are giving your boss what he doesn’t need – the proverbial hole in his head. Even if you are leaving the team (for example, it was only for a special project or you are changing employers), don’t burn your bridges. Remain in good terms with your colleagues.
Be pro-active. I contract a particular pest-control agency for my house because it takes time and trouble to remind me of the next inspection or treatment. True, it is a shrewd way to generate repeat orders. But complacent suppliers would simply spray our house, get our money and wait for us to call them back. This agency relieves me of the problem of monitoring the integrity of my house.
In the same manner, delight your boss by doing things with minimum supervision. You grasp not only what he needs, but when he needs it. For example, your role is to prepare reports for your boss’ weekly or monthly meetings. Have a rhythm or system so that he knows you are working on them without him checking on you. Tip: give him enough time to review your work (and for revisions) before those meetings. Lead your boss to think that he can take a vacation because everything is under control.
Anticipate your boss’ questions. You may not always cover all the issues (I know I don’t), but your batting average should improve over time. For example, don’t just crunch numbers like a robot. Do your best to understand what each number means or where they came from. Later, when your boss asks you to explain your figures, you are ready.
Think of contingency plans. Murphy’s Law says that if anything can go wrong, it will. When you are handling a project, anticipate the bottlenecks. This would be much better than having the project fall into pieces and suffer your boss’ displeasure. Do you need back-up sources of material or manpower? Are your timetables realistic? Does your plan make economic sense? Here again is where your network can help you a lot.
Exceed his expectations. Have you ever felt like royalty when someone gave you extra-mile service? On my mom’s birthday last year, I treated her to dinner in a five-star hotel. The restaurant manager not only helped me select the menu and reserved the best table, he waived the price of a noodle dish and – get this – gave us a luscious cheesecake with mangoes, strawberries and kiwi piled up over the icing! I was expecting maybe a free slice of Black Forest, but he went all out with that cake.
Have the same spirit as that manager. Do more than expected. For salespeople, it can be obvious: beat your quota. But other ways include turning in a report earlier (without sacrificing quality), offering solutions than merely presenting the problems, or learning more about your industry without being spoon-fed by your boss.
Salespeople who take excellent care of their customers are rewarded with repeat purchases and referrals. Treating your boss-client in the same way fosters mutual trust and respect, which can lead to greater responsibilities. This is an indispensable aspect of career advancement which would not be possible had we stayed in our comfort zones.
So… is your customer happy?
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