Most people have seen this one in action and can recognise it instantly. However, just for the record, the technique at the kind of reasonably senior level that might be the case here usually involves the boss referring to meetings or projects in the recent past at which both Boss and Superior were present, and reminiscing over highlights of the superior’s performance. Phrases like “I think you got them over a barrel when you said…”, “that decision, which I thought was rather risky actually, turned out fantastically well didn’t it?” and so on, are characteristic. Especially with men, a kind of chummy deference sets the tone.
Showing posts with label creep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creep. Show all posts
Understand the relationship between your Boss and his/her Superior
Superiors (see previous posts) are often quite different when acting as immediate bosses instead of visiting nobility. Remember that your own boss...
- ...will not see them as a remote figure in the way that most others do
- ...is concerned about them as a boss in the same way that you are concerned about the actions of your own boss
- ...has evolved a strategy for dealing with them, which may well involve quite different behaviour from the behaviour displayed to you in “boss-mode”
The last is the key point, and so it is worth a brief discussion of survival styles available to a boss when working for each kind of Superior. A little observation when the opportunity presents itself (i.e. while you are being silent in the Superior’s presence) should quickly reveal your boss’s choice. We begin by classifying these boss-survival styles, and then consider which of them work which each kind of Superior. They are:
The next posts will look briefly at each in turn.
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