Unfortunately, most of our managers fall short of the ideal mentor-leader-advocate we all want (and deserve). So in her August 23 “Your Best Next Move” video, Bobbie LaPorte answers the question, “what if my boss does not support me?” and shares some simple tips that you can take right now to build visibility and influence within your organization—and sharing your successes with people who matter.
TRANSCRIPT OF YOUR BEST NEXT MOVE: WHAT IF MY BOSS DOES NOT SUPPORT ME?
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly tip for your Best Next Move – where I help you have more agency in your work, acknowledge your capacity to act, and see what you can do right now.
Over the past 17 months of producing this weekly vlog, I’ve shared some tips on how to have a more effective working relationship with your boss – an often frustrating and vexing challenge for many of us – at least once if not multiple times during our careers.
And why is that?
Well clearly, our managers can play a significant role in our careers. While we work in a more egalitarian environment now, we still all work for someone.
Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes not. But bosses can play multiple roles for us: mentor, advisor, guide, teacher, sponsor, obstacle remover, cheerleader – to list a few.
If you have a boss who fills one or more of those roles, consider yourself fortunate. In my experience, it doesn’t happen very often.
In my 30+ years in corporate America, I can think of one manager who filled that role. He was one of those: “I’d walk through walls for people” – because he would clearly do that for me, and his actions proved it.
But let’s be real: most of the time, our managers fall far short of the ideal, or at least of what we’d like.
Recent surveys show that more than 60% of workers feel that the relationship with their boss has deteriorated during the pandemic. That is truly sad because this was a time when we had every reason to be empathetic; to be vulnerable; to reach out to people and see what they were doing – really doing – just because you could.
So, what do you do if you have a boss who’s somewhere in the middle: someone who responds when you need help but doesn’t take the initiative to go to bat for you; to advocate for you; to help you get better in your job? In other words – someone who is invested in your success?
The good news is that the playing field has leveled – in a way that your success does not depend on one person anymore.
With the complex problems that organizations need to solve, it is now more important than ever that you reach across and up into the organization to tap into the skills and expertise of others who can help you. People who you can share your goals and accomplishments with; who can benefit from your strengths; who can see your value and become advocates for you in the organization.
It means knowing your value and matching it with the needs of others in the organization, creating a shared platform of success. They need you as much as you need them.
So, here’s my tip:
- Don’t expect much from a boss who is not actively interested in your success or advocating for you. Keep him/her informed of what you are doing, make sure you are aligned on expectations. You want to make sure they are at least in a neutral position with you – not advocating but for not blocking you either.
- Know your value: this includes your skills, strengths, etc. but more importantly the impact of your work. Then identify 3-4 people in the company who could possibly benefit from what you do well. Explore collaboration – or at least sharing your work and accomplishments.
Remember: the definition of self-promotion is “sharing your successes with people who matter.”
You might be surprised at where you can create allies – maybe even advocates – in the organization, while also building visibility and influence that can be career enabling skills.
As always, I want 2021 to be a year of momentum for you, one of possibility thinking that takes advantage of the agency we sometimes forget we have.
That’s my tip for this week. I’ll see you next week; please, take care of yourselves.