Managing Your Boss

Management

Managing your boss

The concept of partnering can help employees meet their goals and those of their boss

By Cookie Micaller

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mployees often think the workplace is seen through the prism of top executives from their pedestals. But with the advent of new office relations concepts, those who know better are refusing to simply toe the line. The days when the boss was viewed as a king served by employees are over. Management gurus now advise people of new ways to deal with their superiors. Wallance Ma, director of management training outfit Tricon Ltd., says employees should see the boss as a business partner, while they themselves are stakeholders whose destinies are intertwined with that of the company. “How would you treat your business partner? You treat your business partner

nicely. So treat your boss like a business partner and it will work both ways,” says Ma, who has provided management training for the last 20 years. The new approach asks employees to play an active role in fostering a dynamic relationship with the boss and, as a result, get more resources and opportunities from the company. The management and the company will, in turn, benefit from a more efficient and productive workforce. The concept puts a premium on the employee’s interpersonal skills. Understanding the boss’ predicaments allows employees to take a greater role in problem solving and decision-making. “The relationship is not just from top down or vice versa. It’s coming from all directions like a puzzle that you have to piece together. Everybody is important and everybody is a participant,” Ma says. Employees and managers should always look for a common ground to overcome and prevent perennial

conflicts, says Anne Marie Kong, an Institute member and senior financial manager at a multinational company. “There will always be conflicts. There is always an expectation gap and the best we could do is to try to minimize it,” says Kong. Kong stresses the importance of an open...