Submitted by jen_wren on
in
Forums
My boss has a new boss. And, it's suddenly sent my boss scurrying to prove herself - e.g. excluding me from meetings I was normally a part of, but taking my work and presenting as her ideas, spending a lot more time in areas that, up till now, I was allowed to continue working on. My peers feel the same way.
My mentor within the company tells me that I add a lot of value because of all the specialized expertise I've brought to the company in the 10 months I've been here. And, he also tells me that my boss will likely be moving back to her prior functional area. I'm not seeing any signs of this yet, but all the weird exclusionary stuff is really sending the wrong message to my directs and their directs.
So, I realize some of this is about "survival politics". But, I'm not understanding the weird exclusionary and credit-taking tactics. How do I address this? Talk directly with the boss? Ask for a skip-level with the boss' boss so that I can at least make myself known? Ask to be at the meetings where I was included earlier? How do I make my contributions also noticeable to the new uber-boss?
Don't Manage Your Boss, but Help Her Out
Don't try to manage your boss. Ever.
I wouldn't go over the boss' head to make yourself known. You might end up making yourself known for the wrong reasons. I also wouldn't talk to your boss directly about the credit-taking tactics. Trust me, she knows she's taking credit. And she probably knows you know she knows.
That doesn't, however, stop you from trying to help your boss look good. Check out the cast on O3s for the DIRECT: http://www.manager-tools.com/2008/02/one-on-ones-for-the-direct. You understand the new pressures your boss has, and maybe you can put yourself in a good position to alleviate some of her strife. Ask to take some items off her plate, so she can focus more on what she needs to do.
- BJ
One more thing
BJ's advice is spot on.
There is another cast (2 parts) that you should listen to:
http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/01/managing-your-boss
John
You're gettting good advice
You're gettting good advice here!
Mark
Thanks
Thanks for the tips and pointing me to the appropriate podcasts. I'll definitely make the time to listen to them. Like the practical and actionable advice.