Tired of Apple Polishing your Boss? Try something new

The ideas contained in this articles are mostly drawn from the article “Managing your Boss” written for Harvard Business review by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter in 1993. I have basically adapted the idea presentation to suit the general Bhutanese readership. The Bhutan specific views presented in the articles are however drawn from my own experiences and interactions with different employees in the government and private sector organizations in the country. They are my own views not necessarily substantiated through systematic study.

The Bhutanese employees who pamper, flatter and apple-polish their bosses can be broadly categorized into three groups: The “Shakam” (dried meat) suppliers, the omnipresent “Yes Boss” and the sneaky informer. While the three brands are similar in their objective of politically maneuvering their bosses for personal and political reasons, their approach distinctly characterizes their personality and temperament.

The Shakam supplier will not miss an opportunity in making gifts to the boss. He will know the 7th birthday of the 3rd son of his boss. He will ensure that he buys a presentable gift for his boss from Bangkok on his return from the study tour. The first yields of oranges of the season, the first season’s rice harvest and of course the dried yak meat in winter are the most plausible reasons and logical produces to make gifts to the boss.

The omnipresent ‘yes boss’ will stick like the summer leech to his boss. He shall be the quickest to pull the chair for the boss. The missing information would be blurted out from his mouth in lightening speed. He will wish his boss a dozen times in a day. Shoving aside the personal secretary and the security, he will rush to open the car door, straighten his boss’s kabney and patang. There is nothing for him that he disagrees with the boss. Everything that the boss does and says has achieved perfection.

The sneaky informer is like the serpent who will occasionally find a hole to squeeze himself into the boss’s chamber. He wields classified information as far as the conduct and performance of others are concerned. He thrills the boss with what others in the organization think of the boss and what they would do and not do. He will even have access to the thoughts and expectations of his boss’s boss, which comes as a vital weapon for the boss.

While the approach in apple-polishing the boss is distinctly different, all of the three thrive on the one common need to manage upward relationship with the boss. The presence of all the above three categories in any organizations point to the fact that managing relationship upwards is crucial and important. As much as the approaches are easier, they would to a large extent serve only personal and political objectives even at the expense of putting the organizational objectives on the alter.

In all of the above approach of boss maneuvering, the boss is weakened into personal obligations and forced into a partnership of the underdogs to achieve personal gains at the expense of the organizational goals. Fortunately, such relationships between the boss and employees are soon exposed and weakened. The relationship weakens as it is based on weak foundations and especially because it is antithetical to the achievement of organizational goals in the long run.

As much as the approaches are disconcerting, it is important that healthy relationship be maintained upward with the boss. Establishing and maintaining healthy relationship with the boss entails consciously working with the superior to obtain best result for the boss, for yourself and the organization. How do we do it without being the shakam supplier, the omnipresent yes boss and the sneaky informer and importantly why maintain relationship with the boss at all?

Both the boss and the employee need each other in their pursuit of the organizational objectives. They exist in mutual dependence system created as an organization. The boss needs help, co-operation and support of the employees down below in carrying out his job effectively. He would be severely hurt by the actions and inactions of the people down below. In the organization every little job that everybody does is intricately connected to the other. This is the underlying first realization that one must have in establishing healthy relationship with the boss.

We often take refuge into falsity of being independent of our bosses. We see ourselves as being self sufficient in information and resources and hence negate the influence and affect of the boss on our jobs. But the boss is equally accountable for our responsibilities and our achievements. Through numerous organization’s systems and processes embedded in its culture, the tentacles of the boss are enabled to be long and far reaching.

Given that the maintenance of a healthy relationship upward is important, how do we do it without having to apple-polish them?

The first important step is to understand your boss. It follows the general management principle. In order to manage something effectively; one must know the subject thoroughly. Hence in trying to manage the boss, one must know him thoroughly. Understanding the boss requires comprehending his job needs and its context, appreciating his pressures and goals. Some of the questions that could be asked include:

a) What are his/her organizational and personal objectives?
b) What are his pressures such as the ones from his immediate boss, his peers etc?
c) What are his strengths and weaknesses?
d) What are his long term and short-term goals?
e) Does he prefer formal or informal working styles?
f) Does he welcome confrontation / suggestion etc?
g) How does he deal with conflict?

There could be a long list of such information that could be included, which will enhance one’s understanding of the boss. These information would be vital in managing relationship with the boss.

Some bosses would overtly manifest these information in their behavior, actions and speeches. It would be a difficult exercise with others to extract the information required. Their needs and expectations are often not necessarily reflected in what they say and do. It may take some time to gauge the needs and expectations from such bosses. We may have to pay extra attention to the most subtle cues and warnings.

Having obtained adequate understanding of the boss, the next important step is understanding yourself. The boss constitutes only one half of the relationship between the two people. The other half is you. It is the better half to understand and have control over. We must have a comprehensive knowledge on our own strengths, weaknesses, working styles, job expectations and needs. We are at the better position to even weigh the expectations and needs against what reality has to offer.

In establishing healthy relationship, it does not call for changing our own basic personality structure or that of the boss. But it calls for becoming aware of what environment under which both the boss and you operate. A good knowledge of this context prompts innovations in establishing most appropriate working styles and expectations in pursuit of the respective goals. Understanding the boss and yourself creates awareness about what facilitates and what impedes effective relationship.

Understanding the boss is critical especially in the Bhutanese context where our cultural values make us heighten the superiority of the authority figure. Our tendency to elevate the authority beyond what is human often establishes false perception and expectation on the boss. We are culturally conditioned to hold unrealistic views of what a boss is. It is difficult to adjust to the reality that our authority or boss can be imperfect and fallible. But we must remember that the fact is: “They don’t have unlimited time, encyclopedic knowledge, or extrasensory perception; nor are they evil enemies. They have their own pressures and concerns that are sometimes at odds with the wishes of the subordinates- and often for good reason.”1

With a clear understanding of the boss and yourself as two imperfect and fallible human beings with their own organizational and personal goals you can establish appropriate relationship that would enhance productivity and effectiveness.

Here are a few tips on establishing healthy relationship with the boss:

1. Be a judicious informer

The effectiveness and quality of decisions that the boss makes is dependent on the quality and quantity of information he receives from his subordinates. Therefore managing the upward flow of information is very essential. However, bosses would vary in their preferences on how the information is passed on to them depending on their work styles. Study what ways and processes best fit the style of the boss.

Some bosses indicate through great many cues that they do not want to hear about problems. Some bosses want to be communicated about potential problems immediately. A good knowledge on the boss and his context would enable one to channel the information through processes that best fit the boss’s personality and temperament.

2. Supply trust and dependability

In our overzealous attempt to please our boss we often agree to deadlines, which are not achievable. The boss will be pleased in the short term but when the goods are not delivered the displeasure would eat into the trust worth. Say “no” occasionally when the situation demands it. A good boss would realize the worth of “no” and increase his assessment of you in the ‘trust’ rating. For a boss it is more difficult to deal with a subordinate on whom he cannot trust than a subordinate who may be incompetent. Trust of the boss comes incrementally through small efforts.

Without a basic level of trust, a boss would feel compelled to check the subordinate’s work. It is an impediment to delegation. Therefore absence of trust would result into frustrations for both the boss and the employee.

3. Do not leech onto the boss

The boss is as much limited in his time and resources as you do. Every transaction the boss has with the subordinate, it uses up the time, energy and resources. Therefore, make judicious use of these resources. Ensure that the Boss’s resources are not used up in trivial issues that you have brought up.

When too often a subordinate brings up relatively unimportant issues to the notice of the boss, he does so at the cost of his own credibility.

4. Strike a matching working style

Gradually establish a working style that accommodates you and your boss’s working styles. It would involve drawing on each other’s strengths and making up for each other’s weaknesses. There would be many opportunities in adjusting to each other’s styles. For instance if the boss is the “reading” type and not the “listening” type, most often he would prefer that information be passed to him in memos. If a boss is the type who digresses too much during the meetings, a written agenda detailing out the expectations of the meetings may serve as essential guide.

5. Level off the Expectations

Expectations from each other form the basis of many relationships. And many relationships fail because expectations do not match up. It is important that expectations are leveled from the very beginning itself. Some bosses would be explicit in what they expect from the subordinates. Others may be vague in their expectation in which case the subordinate may initiate the clarification exercise by way of detailing out the various aspects of work in a memo to the boss. The boss is then compelled to express his expectation. Much bitterness would be saved if differing expectations could be sorted out in advance.

Checklist for Managing your Boss
Make sure you understand your boss and his or her context, including:

• Goals and objectives
• Pressures
• Strengths, weaknesses, blind spots
• Preferred work style
  Assess yourself and your needs, including:
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Personal style
• Predisposition toward dependence on authority figures
  Develop and maintain a relationship that:
• Fits both your needs and styles
• Is characterized by mutual expectations
• Keeps your boss informed
• Is based on dependability and honesty
• Selectively uses your boss’s time and resources
  Source: Harvard Business Review, Managing your Boss, May-June 1993

1 Gabarro J John and Kotter P John, Managing Your Boss, Harvard Business Review, 1993.May-June 1993. pg. 154.