The year is brand now, and perhaps you have a new boss. Announced just before the holiday break, this new feature on your employment horizon is now getting down to work and probably wants to meet you.
Whether you’re a supervisor or a middle manager, there are things you need to do to prepare for this meeting, and a recent post by Patty Azzarello of Azzarello Group makes great suggestions.
I think that Ms. Azzarello’s overarching theme is “Don’t add weight.” That is, don’t burden your new boss down with requests, complaints, and long recitatives of fact and detail she is probably not ready to absorb. Be perceived as someone who is going to lighten her load. As Ms. Azzarello puts it, “Start by putting yourself in their position. How would you feel if you were new in this job, meeting dozens if not hundreds of people, trying to learn what you need to learn as fast as possible, and trying to share your point of view in a credible way?”
Treat your boss as a human being. What a concept!
And how do you do that? Ms. Azzarello, who has a pretty doggone impressive management dossier herself, says you need to stand out. You need to be helpful. You need not to be annoying. And if you do all these things well, you will most likely be invited back—and welcomed—to a second meeting. (Some of the annoying things she mentions in her article are what direct reports did when she first took on a management position, and you can see why they would not be welcome.)
You stand out by doing your homework—thank goodness for LinkedIn and Google and the grapevine—and by asking questions that allow your new boss to articulate her plans. You are helpful by offering to take tasks off her plate instead of piling on more. You refrain from being annoying because you’re not making demands and (my thought) indulging in high-level gossip, no matter how well intentioned you think it is. Of course, it probably goes without saying that once you know what’s important to her, you couch your remarks in those terms. That only makes good sense.
I recommend subscribing to Patty’s blog. Even for a freelance content creator, it makes sense to keep a finger on the pulse of the corporation. I’m always happy to see it pop into my inbox.
studiostoks / 123RF Stock Photo
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