Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of the books TimePeace: Making peace with time – and the Book of Answers: 105 Career Critical Situations. I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in professional development, career management, time management, and work-life balance strategies.
Today we are going to talk about How to Repair a Damaged Relationship with Your Boss
Everyone wants to work well with their co-workers and boss. But sometimes it’s difficult because of personalities or the way people like to work.
Here are some different strategies to consider:
1) How can you tell if the relationship with your boss is repairable? The best way to see if the relationship can be repaired is to better
understand how you work and how your boss works. Taking a personality test like Opposite Strengths System <http://www.oppositestrengths.com>,or * Myers Briggs* personality test. <http://similarminds.com/jung.html> provides an objective and 360 degree assessment.
By understanding the different way people work and how to better relate to those personalities – you are well on your way to repairing the relationship. Since you cannot change how other people react and respond to you – you will need to be willing to make the change. If you are not willing to put in the effort, then the relationship will not change.
2) What if the relationship cannot be repaired but you don’t want to quit?
The best way to change positions within the company is to start business networking with others in the department or area that you want to move into. Start marketing your expertise in their area by volunteering your services, sending helpful articles that point to solutions or new techniques, present Brown Bag Lunch talks on topics of interest, ask to be mentored/coach by others in the other departments, take others to lunch to find out about other opportunities in their area, and schedule an appointment with your HR representative for additional ideas.
Okay – after some soul-searching; you have decided to repair the relationship. What now?
Here are some quick steps:
1) Acknowledge your part in the broken relationship. Make improvements in your performance, stay positive; don’t place him/her in difficult situations; bring solutions to problems; be open to feedback; don’t take things personally, do what you say you would do and keep him/her in the loop when you can not accomplish it and always stay calm and professional (that means no drama)
2) Understand your boss’ point of view: Go the extra mile; anticipate his/her needs; protect his/her time; and understand his/her communication preferences,
3) Focus on your shared/common goals and interests. Includes some personal interchange. Get to know them a little and give your boss the benefit of the doubt. Another good reference book is Don Ruiz book “The Four Agreements.”. This is a great personal and professional relationship manual.
4) Tommy Thomas, PhD and leader in the Opposite Strength System suggests the following: To improve your relationship with your manager, the main point to remember is to have an attitude of equality. The mistake most people make in their relationships with people they report to is that they confuse the authoritative position that the manager has in the organization with the value the manager has as a person.
So be sure to blend respect for the manager’s position and authority with conveying an attitude of equality.
The IT Professional Development Toolkit, goes into the who, what, where, when, why and how to accomplish all of the above. The IT Professional Development Toolkit is covers a comprehensive set of development tools and techniques in less than 10 minutes per practice. It contains audios, videos, articles, webinars, presentations and practice exercises designed to be less than 5-8 minutes in length. It can be used as a reference platform or a 12 week course program.
The toolkit comes in two forms: DVD and online eLearning program.
For more information about the toolkit, click on the above buttons or please go to my website at www.lauraleerose.com
For more information about Opposite Strengths System and relationships, check out Tommy’s Relationship Guide. This is a report that will give you detailed; specific coaching on how to approach your manager based on who you are and who your manager is and do so with an attitude of equality. Go to http://www.oppositestrengths.com to learn more.