Towson University professor Sharon Bell Buchbinder, RN, PhD, believes nurses should be able to read their bosses. Buchbinder offers simple strategies for improving a working relationship.
(Photo by Bob Stockfield Photography)
Roberta* had been working at a community hospital for one month and already had
established great relationships with her colleagues. An excellent nurse, patients loved Roberta, and she looked forward to spending a long time at this well-run organization.
One day at a unit meeting, Roberta’s nurse manager announced the entire hospital was moving to a wireless barcode scanning system to reduce medication errors.
“No! I used those at my last hospital,” Roberta said. “They’re terrible!”
As she glanced around the room at her silent co-workers, Roberta realized she made a dreadful mistake.
“We’ve been planning this for over a year. I’m the project leader,” her boss said.
What is upward management?
When we hear the word “management,” most of us think of supervising people who report to us. What we tend to forget is management is a two-way street. Good followers paired with good leaders enable organizations to achieve their goals.
Upward management is not following blindly and being a “yes” person. In a 2001 article for Family Practice Management, authors Thomas J. Zuber and Erika H. James wrote, “Managing up is the process of consciously working with your boss to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss and your organization.”
This entails developing and using interpersonal skills that motivate your boss to want to work with you and enable you to get your job done, too.
How should Roberta have responded to the news? What should she have said?
Roberta needs to learn how to manage her boss — and herself. These skills can be learned and enhanced with practice.
Five effective habits for managing your boss
1. Check your attitude. Is “no” the first word you use in every sentence? Author Robert Sutton, in his 2007 book about building a civilized workplace, wrote “negative interactions have a fivefold stronger effect on mood than positive interactions.” If all you do is complain and sap the positive energy out of people, the problem is you — and your boss knows it and feels it, too.
2. Do your job well. It is difficult to criticize someone who knows and does his or her job well. In a June 2007 article for Nursing Management-UK, author C. Pearce wrote, “Make your boss’s life easier, become a trusted ally and, when you give your boss your word, always keep it.” Your integrity and excellence will make you stand out. If your boss knows he or she can trust you to do the right thing, at the right time, with the right people, you become one less worry.
3. Get to know your boss. What is his or her decision-making style? If you know your personality type, it can help in learning how to manage your boss. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory based on Jung’s theory of psychological types. There are a number of free tests available online for self-assessment. Once you know your type, ask your boss about his or her type. Many executive search firms require candidates to complete the MBTI. If your style is at the opposite end of the quadrant from your manager’s style, that knowledge will help you to develop strategies to improve your working relationship.
4. Be honest — but tactful — in communications. In Roberta’s experience, she had information to share with her manager about her experiences with the new technology. However, she chose the wrong time, place, and words to express her concerns. Roberta should have said, “Yes, I am familiar with those and when you have a convenient time, I’d like to meet with you to discuss my experiences with that technology.” When she meets with her manager privately, Roberta can share her reservations about the new system and warn her boss about its potential pitfalls — and make her boss look like a hero.
5. Sell yourself. Most of us were raised to be modest. However, in managing your relationship with your boss, it is critical to let him or her know your track record of success. If you want your manager to be happy to see you, keep your messages simple and upbeat: You are doing your job, and you are doing it well, and you are here to help the boss accomplish his or her job.
* — Fictitious name
Sharon Bell Buchbinder, RN, PhD, is chairperson and coordinator of health care management at Towson University’s Department of Health Science in Towson, Md. She also is co-author of the 2007 book Introduction to Health Care Management.
To comment, send an e-mail to editorDC@nursingspectrum.com.
established great relationships with her colleagues. An excellent nurse, patients loved Roberta, and she looked forward to spending a long time at this well-run organization.
One day at a unit meeting, Roberta’s nurse manager announced the entire hospital was moving to a wireless barcode scanning system to reduce medication errors.
“No! I used those at my last hospital,” Roberta said. “They’re terrible!”
As she glanced around the room at her silent co-workers, Roberta realized she made a dreadful mistake.
“We’ve been planning this for over a year. I’m the project leader,” her boss said.
What is upward management?
When we hear the word “management,” most of us think of supervising people who report to us. What we tend to forget is management is a two-way street. Good followers paired with good leaders enable organizations to achieve their goals.
Upward management is not following blindly and being a “yes” person. In a 2001 article for Family Practice Management, authors Thomas J. Zuber and Erika H. James wrote, “Managing up is the process of consciously working with your boss to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss and your organization.”
This entails developing and using interpersonal skills that motivate your boss to want to work with you and enable you to get your job done, too.
How should Roberta have responded to the news? What should she have said?
Roberta needs to learn how to manage her boss — and herself. These skills can be learned and enhanced with practice.
Five effective habits for managing your boss
1. Check your attitude. Is “no” the first word you use in every sentence? Author Robert Sutton, in his 2007 book about building a civilized workplace, wrote “negative interactions have a fivefold stronger effect on mood than positive interactions.” If all you do is complain and sap the positive energy out of people, the problem is you — and your boss knows it and feels it, too.
2. Do your job well. It is difficult to criticize someone who knows and does his or her job well. In a June 2007 article for Nursing Management-UK, author C. Pearce wrote, “Make your boss’s life easier, become a trusted ally and, when you give your boss your word, always keep it.” Your integrity and excellence will make you stand out. If your boss knows he or she can trust you to do the right thing, at the right time, with the right people, you become one less worry.
3. Get to know your boss. What is his or her decision-making style? If you know your personality type, it can help in learning how to manage your boss. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory based on Jung’s theory of psychological types. There are a number of free tests available online for self-assessment. Once you know your type, ask your boss about his or her type. Many executive search firms require candidates to complete the MBTI. If your style is at the opposite end of the quadrant from your manager’s style, that knowledge will help you to develop strategies to improve your working relationship.
4. Be honest — but tactful — in communications. In Roberta’s experience, she had information to share with her manager about her experiences with the new technology. However, she chose the wrong time, place, and words to express her concerns. Roberta should have said, “Yes, I am familiar with those and when you have a convenient time, I’d like to meet with you to discuss my experiences with that technology.” When she meets with her manager privately, Roberta can share her reservations about the new system and warn her boss about its potential pitfalls — and make her boss look like a hero.
5. Sell yourself. Most of us were raised to be modest. However, in managing your relationship with your boss, it is critical to let him or her know your track record of success. If you want your manager to be happy to see you, keep your messages simple and upbeat: You are doing your job, and you are doing it well, and you are here to help the boss accomplish his or her job.
* — Fictitious name
Sharon Bell Buchbinder, RN, PhD, is chairperson and coordinator of health care management at Towson University’s Department of Health Science in Towson, Md. She also is co-author of the 2007 book Introduction to Health Care Management.
To comment, send an e-mail to editorDC@nursingspectrum.com.
