Success Skills
S uccess Skills
Managing your relationship with your boss
A
s pharmacists, we manage many types of relationships every day. As is true in our personal relationships, our professional relationships need our constant attention and management. While we might pay special attention to building a relationship with a new staff member, how strategic are we in managing the relationship with our direct supervisor? Managing your relationship with your boss has become an acceptable and recommended leadership strategy and has been highlighted by Harvard Business School moguls John Gabarro and John Kotter (see suggested readings). Whether you are a staff pharmacist, clinical specialist, manager, or director, by intentionally investing energy into managing your relationship with your boss, you will become more effective in your role and ultimately find your job easier to perform. Get to know yourself. Self-awareness and self-management are powerful tools for personal development and successful leadership. Because you are half of the employee–boss relationship, it is critical to first understand and acknowledge your strengths, weaknesses, and personal style. What would your coworkers say are your strengths? Maybe you are driven and results oriented, a creative thinker, or excellent with understanding and manipulating data. Strongly consider completing one or more personal assessments, using tools such as Insights programs (Insights Group, Dundee, Scotland), StrengthsFinder (Gallup, Omaha, NE), and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (CPP, Mountainview, CA). Once you have identified your strengths, develop and
leverage them and give less attention to correcting your weaknesses. Weaknesses can often be managed by identifying and working with other team members whose strengths complement yours. For example, perhaps you are very good with data and data presentation but your writing skills are not strong. If you are responsible for preparing a report on medication errors and adverse events to present to the hospital’s senior team, assemble the report and ask a coworker who is a good writer to review your report and assist you with strengthening the text components. Having a core understanding of how you best contribute and what you need to be most effective is important to help you grow as a leader. Leading yourself well will help you lead others more effectively.
Get to know your boss. Your boss is the other half of the employee– boss relationship, so it is wise to learn and understand what motivates him or her. What are your boss’s vital drivers and performance objectives? Do not be
afraid to ask for details or to ask how your goals may be structured to support his or her goals. Your boss most likely also has a boss, so understanding the goals and objectives of your boss’s boss may help you better understand your boss’s motivations or stressors. Many organizations have individual performance goals that cascade from the top down, so look for opportunities to work on projects that support the people above you. For example, if the organization’s goal is to improve patient safety across the care continuum and your boss’s goal is to evaluate and recommend changes to increase the safety of the medicationuse system, you could support your boss in reaching his or her goal by completing a failure modes and effects analysis. How much does your boss know about your work? More importantly, how much does your boss need to know to be an effective advocate for you? Many people underestimate what their bosses need to know and what they actually do know about their work. In order to support you in different leadership circles, your boss needs to understand what is most important to you. How do you best educate your boss? Determine what type of learner your boss is. If your boss is a good listener, you might discuss an issue
The Success Skills column provides practical advice to help pharmacists become more effective in their professional and personal lives. Installments are contributed by and reflect the views of Sara J. White, M.S., FASHP, Pharmacy Leadership Coach, Mountain View, CA.
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
369
Success Skills
in person to answer any questions that may arise. If your boss is a visual learner, you could prepare a written summary for his or her review before you meet. Another important strategy for strengthening your employee–boss relationship is to develop relationships with other persons who report directly to your boss. Try to work well with them and understand their performance objectives and stressors. Ask what has worked well for them in the past and what has not. Communicating critical information, such as resource requests or project status updates, in the methods that work best for your boss can markedly improve your effectiveness and the outcome. Cultivate the relationship. There are four rules that need to be considered at all times when managing your relationship with your boss. Rule 1: No surprises, ever. Always give a heads-up when appropriate. Make sure your boss hears about issues from you first, particularly if you have bad news, such as a serious medication error. You should also remember to communicate this information using the right channel. Bad news is best delivered in person where emotion, intonation, and body language are part of the message. If your boss is not available, you could consider leaving a brief voice message describing the issue. Another option is to send a short e-mail stating that you have an urgent or critical issue to discuss and request that he or she call when available, saving the details for when you speak in person. Using the example of a serious medication error, you might consider providing a brief description of the error, describe the patient’s condition or outcome, and inform your boss of any process changes made to prevent future occurrences. Rule 2: Fix the things your boss cares about. Always try to say yes to your boss, and make sure you deliver 100% of the time. Do not bring problems forward without considering all potential solutions. Bringing solutions (particularly those you can implement on your own) and only making promises you can keep
370
are sure ways to build trust and confidence. Leaders rarely find themselves without a stack of projects to keep them busy, so consider how you can help your boss. Ask if there is something you can do to lighten the load. Be the person who tackles whatever is needed. This will help you gain the appreciation of your boss and show your interest in helping to achieve his or her goals as well as your interest in accepting more responsibility. Remember, you are most likely to succeed when your boss succeeds. Rule 3: Be honest when something concerns you. Your boss and company trust you to be honest and to not shy away from tough issues. People tend to ignore problems or be silent on difficult issues. If something concerns you—you see a potential landmine or obstacle coming— or you are having trouble meeting a goal, you need to speak up. A trusted employee is one who can be pragmatic and provide insight on what can go wrong in any situation, along with any strategies to mitigate the risk of a poor outcome. Rule 4: Always make the most out of your meeting time with your boss. Time is a precious commodity, and you must be well prepared when you take your boss’s time, whether it is a telephone call, a group meeting, or a one-on-one meeting. If you do not have a regular one-on-one meeting, work with your boss to establish one, and ask if you can provide an agenda. Make sure you prepare in advance with a written agenda, along with any necessary supporting documentation. Arrive on time, if not a couple of minutes early. Be mindful in managing your body language, including posture, facial expressions, eye contact, and handling of inanimate objects (e.g., pens, paper). Most experts claim that half to two-thirds of our communication is nonverbal. When preparing your agenda, there are five key elements that you should cover in each meeting. First, what does your boss need to know? Remember, that your boss’s time is precious: you do not need to supply information about every little thing you are working on. Update your boss on key items from previous meetings. Discuss
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
issues you suspect your boss may be asked about by others, such as a difficult physician interaction, a patient complaint, a significant supply cost variance, or a staff member resignation. Second, what are you working on that you want your boss to know about? This is the opportunity to “toot your own horn,” remembering to recognize and give credit to your team members. Consider sharing key project accomplishments, significant patient interventions, publications or work with professional associations, or a good patient or staff story. Third, what do you need help with? Let your boss know where you can use his or her help in moving projects forward or overcoming barriers. If you are stalled on a project because another individual is not responding, ask your boss for advice in engaging that person. If you are having difficulties with competing priorities, ask for guidance. Your boss’s priorities should drive yours. Fourth, how can you help your boss? Are there other things you can do to contribute? By seeking additional responsibility, you show your interest in continuing to learn and grow. Such activity also supports the effectiveness of your boss. Fifth, how are you doing? This is the time to talk less and listen more. Intentionally seek performance feedback each time you meet with your boss. Ask what you should do more of, do less of, start doing, or stop doing. It is critical to listen to this feedback, evaluate it, and make the necessary adjustments in your behavior and work. Conclusion. As an employee, you have the ability to positively influence and manage one of your most important professional relationships: the relationship with your boss. Successful management of this relationship requires you to understand your own leadership style, including your strengths and weaknesses; learn your boss’s leadership style and key drivers; and make your boss look good. You can do this by meeting regularly with your boss, fixing the things he or she cares about, honestly expressing any
Success Skills
concerns you have, and respecting the importance of your boss’s time. It is of particular importance to value and act on feedback from your boss. Investing your time and energy to the management of your relationship with your boss is key to your overall effectiveness and happiness at work. Suggested readings Gabarro JJ, Kotter JP. Managing your boss. Harv Bus Rev. 1993; 71:150-7. Kotter JP, Cohen DS. The heart of change: real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business; 2002. Maxwell JC, Emery S, Thompson M. The 360 leader. Osprey, FL: Nelson Business; 2005. Maxwell J. The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader: becoming the person others will want to follow. Nashville: Thomas Nelson; 2007. Stevenson J. Persuasion as a strategy for managing up. Am J HealthSyst Pharm. 2001; 58(suppl 1):S4-6.
John Pastor III, Pharm.D., FASHP, Director of Pharmacy University of Minnesota Medical Center Minneapolis, MN [email protected] Sara White, M.S., FASHP, Leadership Coach Mountain View, CA The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest.
DOI 10.2146/ajhp130463
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
371
Copyright of American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy is the property of American Society of Health System Pharmacists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
S uccess Skills
Managing your relationship with your boss
A
s pharmacists, we manage many types of relationships every day. As is true in our personal relationships, our professional relationships need our constant attention and management. While we might pay special attention to building a relationship with a new staff member, how strategic are we in managing the relationship with our direct supervisor? Managing your relationship with your boss has become an acceptable and recommended leadership strategy and has been highlighted by Harvard Business School moguls John Gabarro and John Kotter (see suggested readings). Whether you are a staff pharmacist, clinical specialist, manager, or director, by intentionally investing energy into managing your relationship with your boss, you will become more effective in your role and ultimately find your job easier to perform. Get to know yourself. Self-awareness and self-management are powerful tools for personal development and successful leadership. Because you are half of the employee–boss relationship, it is critical to first understand and acknowledge your strengths, weaknesses, and personal style. What would your coworkers say are your strengths? Maybe you are driven and results oriented, a creative thinker, or excellent with understanding and manipulating data. Strongly consider completing one or more personal assessments, using tools such as Insights programs (Insights Group, Dundee, Scotland), StrengthsFinder (Gallup, Omaha, NE), and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (CPP, Mountainview, CA). Once you have identified your strengths, develop and
leverage them and give less attention to correcting your weaknesses. Weaknesses can often be managed by identifying and working with other team members whose strengths complement yours. For example, perhaps you are very good with data and data presentation but your writing skills are not strong. If you are responsible for preparing a report on medication errors and adverse events to present to the hospital’s senior team, assemble the report and ask a coworker who is a good writer to review your report and assist you with strengthening the text components. Having a core understanding of how you best contribute and what you need to be most effective is important to help you grow as a leader. Leading yourself well will help you lead others more effectively.
Get to know your boss. Your boss is the other half of the employee– boss relationship, so it is wise to learn and understand what motivates him or her. What are your boss’s vital drivers and performance objectives? Do not be
afraid to ask for details or to ask how your goals may be structured to support his or her goals. Your boss most likely also has a boss, so understanding the goals and objectives of your boss’s boss may help you better understand your boss’s motivations or stressors. Many organizations have individual performance goals that cascade from the top down, so look for opportunities to work on projects that support the people above you. For example, if the organization’s goal is to improve patient safety across the care continuum and your boss’s goal is to evaluate and recommend changes to increase the safety of the medicationuse system, you could support your boss in reaching his or her goal by completing a failure modes and effects analysis. How much does your boss know about your work? More importantly, how much does your boss need to know to be an effective advocate for you? Many people underestimate what their bosses need to know and what they actually do know about their work. In order to support you in different leadership circles, your boss needs to understand what is most important to you. How do you best educate your boss? Determine what type of learner your boss is. If your boss is a good listener, you might discuss an issue
The Success Skills column provides practical advice to help pharmacists become more effective in their professional and personal lives. Installments are contributed by and reflect the views of Sara J. White, M.S., FASHP, Pharmacy Leadership Coach, Mountain View, CA.
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
369
Success Skills
in person to answer any questions that may arise. If your boss is a visual learner, you could prepare a written summary for his or her review before you meet. Another important strategy for strengthening your employee–boss relationship is to develop relationships with other persons who report directly to your boss. Try to work well with them and understand their performance objectives and stressors. Ask what has worked well for them in the past and what has not. Communicating critical information, such as resource requests or project status updates, in the methods that work best for your boss can markedly improve your effectiveness and the outcome. Cultivate the relationship. There are four rules that need to be considered at all times when managing your relationship with your boss. Rule 1: No surprises, ever. Always give a heads-up when appropriate. Make sure your boss hears about issues from you first, particularly if you have bad news, such as a serious medication error. You should also remember to communicate this information using the right channel. Bad news is best delivered in person where emotion, intonation, and body language are part of the message. If your boss is not available, you could consider leaving a brief voice message describing the issue. Another option is to send a short e-mail stating that you have an urgent or critical issue to discuss and request that he or she call when available, saving the details for when you speak in person. Using the example of a serious medication error, you might consider providing a brief description of the error, describe the patient’s condition or outcome, and inform your boss of any process changes made to prevent future occurrences. Rule 2: Fix the things your boss cares about. Always try to say yes to your boss, and make sure you deliver 100% of the time. Do not bring problems forward without considering all potential solutions. Bringing solutions (particularly those you can implement on your own) and only making promises you can keep
370
are sure ways to build trust and confidence. Leaders rarely find themselves without a stack of projects to keep them busy, so consider how you can help your boss. Ask if there is something you can do to lighten the load. Be the person who tackles whatever is needed. This will help you gain the appreciation of your boss and show your interest in helping to achieve his or her goals as well as your interest in accepting more responsibility. Remember, you are most likely to succeed when your boss succeeds. Rule 3: Be honest when something concerns you. Your boss and company trust you to be honest and to not shy away from tough issues. People tend to ignore problems or be silent on difficult issues. If something concerns you—you see a potential landmine or obstacle coming— or you are having trouble meeting a goal, you need to speak up. A trusted employee is one who can be pragmatic and provide insight on what can go wrong in any situation, along with any strategies to mitigate the risk of a poor outcome. Rule 4: Always make the most out of your meeting time with your boss. Time is a precious commodity, and you must be well prepared when you take your boss’s time, whether it is a telephone call, a group meeting, or a one-on-one meeting. If you do not have a regular one-on-one meeting, work with your boss to establish one, and ask if you can provide an agenda. Make sure you prepare in advance with a written agenda, along with any necessary supporting documentation. Arrive on time, if not a couple of minutes early. Be mindful in managing your body language, including posture, facial expressions, eye contact, and handling of inanimate objects (e.g., pens, paper). Most experts claim that half to two-thirds of our communication is nonverbal. When preparing your agenda, there are five key elements that you should cover in each meeting. First, what does your boss need to know? Remember, that your boss’s time is precious: you do not need to supply information about every little thing you are working on. Update your boss on key items from previous meetings. Discuss
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
issues you suspect your boss may be asked about by others, such as a difficult physician interaction, a patient complaint, a significant supply cost variance, or a staff member resignation. Second, what are you working on that you want your boss to know about? This is the opportunity to “toot your own horn,” remembering to recognize and give credit to your team members. Consider sharing key project accomplishments, significant patient interventions, publications or work with professional associations, or a good patient or staff story. Third, what do you need help with? Let your boss know where you can use his or her help in moving projects forward or overcoming barriers. If you are stalled on a project because another individual is not responding, ask your boss for advice in engaging that person. If you are having difficulties with competing priorities, ask for guidance. Your boss’s priorities should drive yours. Fourth, how can you help your boss? Are there other things you can do to contribute? By seeking additional responsibility, you show your interest in continuing to learn and grow. Such activity also supports the effectiveness of your boss. Fifth, how are you doing? This is the time to talk less and listen more. Intentionally seek performance feedback each time you meet with your boss. Ask what you should do more of, do less of, start doing, or stop doing. It is critical to listen to this feedback, evaluate it, and make the necessary adjustments in your behavior and work. Conclusion. As an employee, you have the ability to positively influence and manage one of your most important professional relationships: the relationship with your boss. Successful management of this relationship requires you to understand your own leadership style, including your strengths and weaknesses; learn your boss’s leadership style and key drivers; and make your boss look good. You can do this by meeting regularly with your boss, fixing the things he or she cares about, honestly expressing any
Success Skills
concerns you have, and respecting the importance of your boss’s time. It is of particular importance to value and act on feedback from your boss. Investing your time and energy to the management of your relationship with your boss is key to your overall effectiveness and happiness at work. Suggested readings Gabarro JJ, Kotter JP. Managing your boss. Harv Bus Rev. 1993; 71:150-7. Kotter JP, Cohen DS. The heart of change: real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business; 2002. Maxwell JC, Emery S, Thompson M. The 360 leader. Osprey, FL: Nelson Business; 2005. Maxwell J. The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader: becoming the person others will want to follow. Nashville: Thomas Nelson; 2007. Stevenson J. Persuasion as a strategy for managing up. Am J HealthSyst Pharm. 2001; 58(suppl 1):S4-6.
John Pastor III, Pharm.D., FASHP, Director of Pharmacy University of Minnesota Medical Center Minneapolis, MN [email protected] Sara White, M.S., FASHP, Leadership Coach Mountain View, CA The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest.
DOI 10.2146/ajhp130463
Am J Health-Syst Pharm—Vol 71 Mar 1, 2014
371
Copyright of American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy is the property of American Society of Health System Pharmacists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
