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Showing posts with label kennedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kennedy. Show all posts
How your Boss talks to his/her Superior: #8 - The Minister
The Minister differs from the Lieutenant in three key ways. Firstly, they have their own agenda, and enough power and/or a weak enough Superior to pursue it independently. Secondly, they have reasonable expectations of the Superior’s job in the near future and are brave enough to try and encourage that. Reagans, Hitlers, Kennedys and Krushchevs are all prone to have Ministers rather than Lieutenants. Thirdly, it is often blurred exactly who is working to whom. The strongest Ministers with the weakest Superiors frequently have managed to get the Superior facilitating their own agenda rather than the usual way around.
How your Boss talks to his/her Superior: #4 - The Child
A surprisingly frequent visitor, the Child (an exaggeratedly emotional Dependent when in the presence of the Superior in front of an audience) has a self-esteem which seems completely determined by the Superior’s responses on a minute-by-minute basis. Merely being engaged in public conversation by the Superior makes them blossom, while being praised makes them gibber with gratitude. Being rebuked however, can often bring them near to tears. This is useful as it usually means they can’t speak for several minutes for fear of cracking voice, or actually have to leave a meeting in need of an emergency bathroom visit, giving you the opportunity to speak without your boss as an audience. For some reason, (possibly connected with their power-as-aphrodisiac aspiriations?), Kennedys seem to have an unusual high birthrate of Child reactions.
Superiors: The Kennedy
Almost always male, charismatic and charming, the Kennedy has climbed the career ladder motivated primarily by the hope that power really is an aphrodisiac. Concerned always to appear caring and interested, but actually cares and is interested only in himself. Points to note:
a) do not be taken in. Coming into contact with a Kennedy will tend to be a positive experience. They are skilled at making you feel valued, and many are charismatic enough so that simply having their attention is in some way a fulfilling experience, and when their attention moves on it leaves a kind of void. Remember that this is entirely transient and their interest ceases the moment they move on to smile at someone else.
b) The Kennedy will have its own circle of people to whom it actually listens. You are not in it. Your opinion will not count. So don't express it. See "not making a fool of yourself".
a) do not be taken in. Coming into contact with a Kennedy will tend to be a positive experience. They are skilled at making you feel valued, and many are charismatic enough so that simply having their attention is in some way a fulfilling experience, and when their attention moves on it leaves a kind of void. Remember that this is entirely transient and their interest ceases the moment they move on to smile at someone else.
b) The Kennedy will have its own circle of people to whom it actually listens. You are not in it. Your opinion will not count. So don't express it. See "not making a fool of yourself".
Dealing with more remote Superiors
Three things matter when dealing with your boss's Superior(s):
The next posts look at each in turn
- Do not make a fool of yourself
- Do NOT make a fool of your boss
- Understand the relationship between Boss and Superior
The next posts look at each in turn
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