It’s possibly the most puzzling and challenging decision you may have faced in a long time. How do you cope with a situation where a colleague has been promoted to be your boss? You might have put your name in the frame, yet, on this occasion, it didn’t work out. So what can you do to ensure the working relationship between you and your new boss starts off and continues in the right way?

Firstly, ask yourself, ‘what kind of working relationship do I want and need with my new boss?’ This proves you are acting proactively and want to establish a good foundation for working together in the future. Remember that, if you worked together well in the past, there is no reason why that shouldn’t continue…you just need to decide what kind of tasks you can complete now things have changed.

Then, discuss with your boss what you can do to make them appreciate your help. Their role will be different now, and it would be unwise to try to prove to higher management that they made the wrong decision in promoting your colleague. Higher management may well be watching your reaction to your colleague’s promotion, to see if you are also promotion material too. So if you approach the situation with an attitude of helpfulness to your new boss, you’ll be seen as promotion material in the future.

Discuss with your new boss where he or she sees you in the next five years or so. This gives you an accurate picture of how they perceive your contribution within the team and helps you identify the things you need to focus on in order to be in the frame next time.

Although you might see your new boss in a different light now, assisting them to be successful in their new role can only help your future prospects. Learn from their skills and you may see further opportunities open up for you.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Small businesses have not done enough to put post-recession recovery plans in place, according to a new report from the Open University Business School.

Newbusiness.com said the report revealed that only 10% of small firms have put together a plan for the recovery and that those businesses with a plan were most confident about their immediate prospects.

“Just under a third of business owners with no plan in place said it was because the effects of the recession had not been significant enough for their business. A further 18% said recessionary effects on their customers are still too uncertain,” said Professor Colin Gray, professor of enterprise development at the Open University Business School.

“Although there are increasing signs that the economy overall may be turning the corner, recovery remains elusive for the 95% of all firms in Britain that employ fewer than 10 people.”

The question now is, What are you and your colleagues doing to plan your future progress? Are you specifically looking at ways to improve your cashflow or ROI? Which areas of your business are getting the most attention?

The answers to these questions may well dictate how quickly things pick up for you.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

In this unprecedented time, one thing is for sure; business will never be the same again, and with respect to your department budget, this will more than likely be the case!

It’s unlikely that the company will increase the overall budget available. It is more likely that you will be competing for the same pot as everyone else looking to protect their budget. So you must build a strong case and be prepared to fight your corner.

If your manager has no real budgeting authority then it may be difficult to pin them down on this topic. Remember if your company budgets top-down then no matter how much involvement you or your manager have in the budgeting cycle, you will still end up being given a figure and it may be less than you were hoping for.
What to do?

Firstly, put your budget cut into perspective.

How does it compare to other departments? Are your cuts deeper or the same as others? Or are getting off fairly lightly in the overall scheme of things?

So ask yourself:
“How does the cut I’m being asked to take compare with cuts elsewhere in the business?”

If it’s less than others, thank the boss! If it’s deeper, find out why the differential has been made.

Secondly, if you’re able to carry out an analysis between your budget and your required revenues to carry out a great job, you should be in a position to justify a higher budget figure. Ask yourself whether your boss would be more impressed with revenue gain than cost-cutting. If so, ask:

“If I could show you that increasing our budget would generate more revenue than the budget cut, would you approve it?”

This also proves your value to the company, as all senior managers would welcome a critical and creative thinker when it comes to investment in their business.

Thirdly, even after proving your worth and legitimising a better budget figure, you still may be forced to accept a change in what you are able to work with. In this case, you need to be open with your team members and ascertain where their help might prove worthwhile.

In meetings with your team, generate some ideas on where they see value could be enhanced in the business by savings or improvements. Often, team members close to the ground can come up with ideas you hadn’t thought of. Ask:

“What can we all do to save or make money in the department?”

If this is done in the right spirit, with people understanding the reasons for it, motivation won’t suffer, and all input will be assessed and valued.

After you’ve analysed the situation, you have to decide how much effort you want to spend in defending your budget. It’s important that you fully understand the chances of success before you start this; the most sensible approach may be to accept that you will not get the funds you need to carry out all that you had planned this year.

Redirecting your efforts into reviewing what you can do rather than what you will not be able to do might be a far more sensible approach.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

A study on why people leave their jobs in order to work for another company came up with an interesting observation: More than two thirds of people leave, not because of better prospects or more pay, but because of their poor relationship with their immediate supervisor or manager.
This allows us to ask a question that might address this issue of poor relationships with the people we work for, namely “How can we get the best out of our boss and give ourselves the best opportunities to keep the communications loops wide open between us?”

Our take on this is to lead your manager proactively, rather than being in the reactive mode of letting them manage us. This will lead to effective and efficient project management, based on clear and specific goals that will create better results than if we just depended on our manager for guidance all the time.

Here are some tips to ensure you have the best chance of getting those results:

Make a contract with your manager:

Find out what an excellent job looks like, and who will be involved in measuring that performance.

Make sure you’re clear on your manager’s expectations:

What seems really exquisite work to you may only appear average to them

You could ask, “Can we be clear on what standard you are looking for on this project?” Or, “If this went exactly like you wanted it to go and it turned out perfect, what would have to happen between now and that time?” Be aware of all aspects of what the manager wants in the project; sometimes managers don’t tell you everything, and you have to dig deep to get the the details you require. Be assertive in asking questions that give you clarity of expectations, and don’t assume anything you’re not clear about.

Be clear on what would make your manager happy regarding quality, follow-up and timing:

Your manager may have lots of other things on their mind and might forget to tell you such things as a firm deadline or a required step. And since everyone operates from their own set of realities, the possibility of miscommunication is high. That’s why you need to take the initiative to set expectations for every project your boss assigns you. You need to find out: “What is the deadline? What are my resources? What checkpoints or milestones do we want to establish, if any? What step or contact person is absolutely critical to this project?” Just as you set expectations when dealing with clients and co-workers, you need to manage the relationship and set expectations with your boss every time.

Know what your manager’s style is and adapt to that style:

Some managers want the whole story, bit by bit, in detail and with commas and full-stops in the right place. Others just want the big picture, like an executive summary, just to convince them that you’re on the right track. Others want a mixture of both. Be aware of how your manager wants you to communicate with them. It will be worth your time invested in this important area.

Practice emotional intelligence with your manager when it comes to conflicting interests:

A person high in EQ will assess the situation with their manager and identify ways they can communicate effectively to resolve conflict. One of the best ways to do this is to accept responsibility for the communication. Use “I” rather than “You” to clarify meaning. For instance “I am not clear on this aspect” rather than “You need to explain that clearer”. By taking personal responsibility for any misunderstandings, you clarify in your own mind what standards are being expected, and create better long-term relationships with your manager

If other managers are involved in the project, be aware of their interests and styles:

Keeping up with the expectations and styles of many managers involved in the project may be tricky. Keep in mind the one thing that matters most to each of the stakeholders you have to please. Either ask each person what is most important to them, or work out what you have observed in each person’s behavior that you can work with. This way, you keep the communication lines open and allow each manager to see things from your perspective.

Lead them, rather than the other way round:

You can reassess the relationship with your manager on each new project you work on. If you are able to lead them and show them how to get the best out of you, and if you are able to build great communication skills with them and help them lead you better, it results in a fine working relationship that enhances every aspect of the projects you work on together
Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Too often I see people earn the title of manager and then lose themselves in their new identity. Some will thrive and grow in their new positions while others will become stagnant after a period of time.

Most, when asked, will say they are “a manager” and my next question is always this:

What type of manager are you?

Truth be told, there are plenty of differences. We have general managers, senior managers, managers, supervisors, and – well – you get it… you could place a wide variety of different terms on the different levels or types of management. I know of one company that assigned the title of “Assistant Vice President” to every mid-level manager in the organization. Sounds nice, right? The problem is that many people don’t understand exactly what their titles mean.

Let’s take a look at a couple of those titles and their definitions:

• General managers have a very broad responsibility, in most cases. General managers aren’t responsible for one specific part of an organisation. Instead they are responsible for the function of all areas – with each individual manger of those areas to get the jobd one.
• Senior managers usually work in organisations with a lot of employees – those who feel as those there are so many levels they need to add additional people to the hierarchy to help keep control. Senior level managers generally fall somewhere below the general manager, but above a regular department manager.
• Managers, in general, are individuals in charge of directing the work of a specific group of people. Managers may be in charge of an entire department, or they may be in charge of a team within a department. They’ll either report directly to the general manager, or to a “senior manager” above them.
• A supervisor, in some cases, is considered a manager. In other places, a supervisor is someone who is in a junior management position. Supervisors may be in charge of a small portion of a team, reporting back to the manager at the end of the day as to the status of a project. Supervisors generally have very little authority, and in some cases can’t even hire or fire employees.

Where do you fall on the management mall map? Are you where you want to be, or are you aching to move up the corporate ladder?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”