Do you sometimes step back and wonder why your manager made a particular decision? Do you ever find it hard to understand why your manager is asking you yet again to complete a task by hand because she has not reviewed the macro you wrote to do the job for you? Is it becoming ever more difficult for you to understand how your direct boss could be in a position of authority over you? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ then you are not alone…many of us feel this throughout our careers. But rather than let frustration consume you, step back and think about the reasons for your frustration? And then consider whether your expectations are fair? After all, your manager has the right to be learning how to manage well just as you are learning how to best succeed in your role. The best course of action is to be aware of how and where your manager needs help and to assist them in their own development so they can help you in yours.
For new grads in the early years of their career, the chances are that you’re working under the supervision of a relatively junior manager. There are two types of junior manager that you’re likely to experience; the technical expert and the high flier. Each presents challenges for the new grad to overcome if they are to succeed themselves but both can prove useful allies if you can see past their limitations and exploit what they offer. The technical expert for example, is unlikely to empower you but rather, will see problems as an opportunity to demonstrate their ‘fire-fighting’ skills. You will struggle to compete with their years of experience or equally, gain the recognition of more senior management for problem resolution while you’re under their supervision. However, they will likely lack the analytical skills to identify root causes of problems and their own fire-fighting abilities will often result in their failure to design technology solutions that prevent the problems in the first place. In this scenario, your opportunity is to fill this gap. Begin data collection and analysis to show how your boss’s fire-fighting skills could be employed less if procedure and or technology changes were sponsored. Ask if you might work with technology staff to design and implement a workflow change or even whether your own database or macro skills might be utilized to prove the concept? Build a story to support your case based upon empirical evidence and socialize your findings with your boss and other technically aware employees to ensure your idea has merit and then get to work implementing it. And remember, share the praise and credit with all who assist if you succeed. Although be sure to post more senior managers and mentors directly. You will need them to recognize your contribution and lift you from your current role as your technical specialist manager is unlikely to do so. If they don’t know what you’ve done, they won’t know the talent that you have.
Alternatively, if you find yourself working for the high flier you will find that she already has the more senior relationships sewn up and so your route up is guaranteed…so long as you can get on her coat-tails! The trick to this is to CTA (cover their ass!). Whilst the high flier is out pitching new ideas and socializing the success of their teams, Rome could very well be burning! Your ticket is to fire-fight. You might not have the technical knowledge to know how but you should be capable of recognizing a potential problem. The biggest fear of a high flier is that something goes wrong. You acting as an alarm and coordinating responses to problems ensuring the high flier always has timely and accurate data to hand will ensure you become a trusted and depended upon resource who will be taken for the ride all the way up the corporate ladder until you either surpass your high flying boss or decide for yourself to change direction.
Managers, particularly the junior ones who you will work with during your early career years are not perfect and should not be expected to be so. You might wish to complain but to be blunt, it’s futile to do so…and remember, you’ll hopefully be in their position some day and you’ll want your chance to make mistakes and grow. The trick then is to compliment their strengths to maximize team productivity and highlight your own capabilities. The strategy for achieving this depends upon your manager’s competencies but if correctly identified will allow you to make up for their short-comings and position yourself well for progression as soon as appropriate.
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