Hanging Tough with Your Boss
The Washington Post ran an interesting article by Lois Romano last week on how Hillary Clinton is organizing her staff and leading at the State Department. For me, the kicker came at the very end in this passage:
Shamila Chaudary -- a self-described "backbencher" -- had toiled for years as a faceless expert on the Pakistan desk when one day she found herself invited to brief Clinton. Chaudary, 32, said the two sparred over whether it was prudent to engage non-governmental power centers in Pakistan, with Clinton expressing skepticism.Chaudary held her ground, making the point that "we've been seen as not engaging with them, and it's hurt us a lot." She said that although she and Clinton "didn't necessarily agree . . . she said that it's very important for us to debate like this. . . . This is how she said she wants to do business."
Within 48 hours of their meeting, Chaudary was promoted to a front-line job in the office of policy planning.
Chaudary's story came to mind the other day when I was talking with a client who's getting ready to make a controversial pitch to one of the top executives of his organization. If you have enough responsibility and are doing your job well, you'll eventually find yourself in a situation where you need to tell your boss something she disagrees with or flat out doesn't want to hear. As Chaudary found out, hanging tough with your boss can be a career changing moment. Do it poorly too many times, though, and it can end up being a career ending moment.
How do you do go head to head with your boss and still maintain the access and credibility you'll need to be effective down the road? Here are some tips:
Know Your Stuff: In order to be heard and taken seriously, you have to be seen as a serious person. That starts with having a grounded point of view on the important issues you're advocating. It continues with having thought through the perspectives of different stakeholder groups and distilling that down to a recommendation that considers the different interests at play.
Know Yourself: It takes self-awareness to successfully go head to head with your boss. You need to understand your motivations and ensure that they're focused on the best interests of the organization and not your own self-interests.
Know Your Boss: Take your boss's perspective. What kind of information would you need to know or points of view would you need to hear to be successful in your job? If you can learn to think like your boss and anticipate her needs, you'll find a much more receptive audience. Another thing to learn is when to hold them and when to fold them. On holding them, be smart about when you go to the mat and when you don't. If everything becomes a major issue, eventually nothing will be. On folding them, recognize that you're not going to win every argument. Learn the signals that your boss sends when he has decided the conversation is over. Ignore those too many times and you'll lose your access.
What else you have learned about hanging tough with the boss? What do you agree or disagree with in my tips? What tips of your own would you add?
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Executive coach Scott Eblin’s goal is to help you succeed at the next level of leadership. Throughout the week, he’ll offer his take on the leadership lessons in the news and his advice on your most pressing leadership questions. A former government executive, Scott is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is the author of The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success.
More than anything else is have a boss who is receptive to disagreement. I once had a boss who thrived on his staff disagreeing with him. It was how he got all the information to make a good decision. However far too many I've had in Federal Government that want nothing but yes men around them. Working for those puts your integrity in a vise every day. With that type boss there is no form of disagreement --professional, open door, closed door, or anything. The most important thing you can do is learn when you have that type of boss before you disagree with them. You won't get a second chance.
bmj Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 11:18 PMShortly after sparring with the Secretary over whether it was prudent to engage non-governmental power centers in Pakistan, Ms. Chaudary was promoted to a position with dimished opportunity to do so. Good for her career, but didn't she lose on principle? The Secretary used the ideal solution to resolve the conflict. Promoting problems is a well-tested Washington solution.
Jeremiah Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:37 AMMost senior managers will not accept disagreement. They even ask for feedback on a new report or project and then dismiss any feedback. Very quickly, we realize it is better to not say anything and let the report/project get released. Very sad.
The other situation is where senior managment invites others in for a brain storming session and then ignores all input except their own. Do they think we don't see what they are doing?
Charlie Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2010 9:59 AMI've consistently used and advocated two approaches that overlap with your three tips: what I've called "completed staff work" and picking my battles. Completed staff work means that I present a well reasoned discussion to my manager that allows him/her to make a decision. The discussion has to be thorough enough that all potential questions have had to have been considered and answered to the point where a decision can be made. The other principle, 'picking my battles' is your knowing when to hold or fold. Sometimes a fight just isn't worth it. Sometimes a fight is absolutely worth it. Knowing the difference between these two is the challenge.
Incidentally, I would have to disagree with Jeremiah - from the article, it sounded like the Secretary wanted the discussion she had with Ms. Chaudary - even if she didn't agree with the arguments presented. Sounds like a 'problem' wasn't promoted, but a great staffer was promoted into a position where more interaction with the Secretary could be possible.
BMc Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2010 10:50 AMNo 32 year old knows diddly about anything. Look deeper.
Wise Old Owl Posted Tuesday, March 23, 2010 2:22 PM