The First 90 Days (34 page)

Pinpoint the specific ways in which your styles differ and what those differences imply about how you will interact.

Suppose you prefer to learn by talking with knowledgeable people, whereas your boss relies more on reading and analyzing hard data. What kinds of misunderstandings and problems might this stylistic difference cause and how can you avoid them? Or suppose your new boss tends to micromanage while you prefer a lot of independence. What can you do to manage this tension?

You may find it helpful to talk to others who have worked with your boss in the past. Naturally, you have to do this judiciously. Be careful not to be perceived as eliciting criticism of how the boss manages. Stick to less fraught issues, such as how the boss prefers to communicate. Listen to others’ perspectives, but base your evolving strategy chiefly on your own experience.

Observe too how your boss deals with others. Is there consistency? If not, why not? Does the boss have favorites? Is he particularly prone to micromanaging certain issues? Has he come down hard on a few people because of unacceptable performance?

Scope Out the Dimensions of Your Box

Your boss will have a comfort zone about involvement in decision making. Think of this zone as defining the boundaries of the decision-making “box” in which you will operate. What sorts of decisions does your boss want you to make on your own but tell her about? Are you free, for example, to make key personnel decisions? When does she want to be consulted before you decide? Is it when your actions touch on broader issues of policy—for example, in granting people leave? Or when there are hot political issues associated with some of the projects you are working on? When does she want to make the decision herself?

Initially, expect to be confined to a relatively small box. As your new boss gains confidence in you, the dimensions of the box should increase. If not, or if it remains too small to allow you to be effective, you may have to address the issue directly.

Adapt to Your Boss’s Style

Assume that the job of building a positive relationship with your new boss is 100 percent your responsibility. In short, this means adapting to his or her style. If your boss hates voicemail, don’t use it. If he or she wants to know in detail what is going on, overcommunicate. Do not do anything that could compromise your ability to achieve superior business results, but do look for opportunities to smooth the day-to-day workings of your relationship. Others who have worked with your boss can tell you what approaches they found successful. Then judiciously experiment with the tactics that seem most promising in your case. When in doubt, simply ask your boss how he or she would prefer you to proceed.

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Address the Difficult Issues

When serious style differences arise, it is best to address them directly. Otherwise, you run the risk that your boss will interpret a style difference as disrespect or even incompetence on your part. Raise the style issue before it becomes a source of irritation, and talk with your boss about how to accommodate both your styles. This conversation can smooth the path for both of you to achieve your goals.

One proven strategy is to focus your early conversations on goals and results, instead of how you achieve them. You might simply say that you expect to notice differences in how the two of you approach certain issues or decisions, but that you are completely committed to achieving the results to which you have both agreed. An assertion of this kind prepares your boss to expect differences. You may have to remind your boss periodically to focus on the results you are achieving, not on your methods.

It may also help to judiciously discuss style issues with someone your boss trusts, who can enlighten you about potential issues and solutions before you raise them directly with your boss. If you find the right adviser, he or she may even help you broach a difficult issue in a nonthreatening manner.

Don’t make the mistake of trying to address all style issues in a single conversation. Nevertheless, a dialogue explicitly devoted to style is an excellent place to start. Expect to continue to be attentive to, and adapt to, the boss’s style as your relationship evolves.

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.

Planning the Resources Conversation

The
resources conversation
is an ongoing negotiation with your new boss for critical resources. Before you launch this conversation, you should agree with your boss on the business situation you face, goals and expectations, and mutually effective working styles. Now you must secure the resources you need to meet expectations.

The resources you need will depend on the situation and differ at different points in time.

In a
start-up situation,
your most urgent needs are likely to be adequate financial resources, technical support, and people with the right expertise.

In a
turnaround situation,
you need authority, backed by political support, to make the tough decisions and secure scarce financial and human resources.

In a
realignment situation,
you need consistent, public backing to get the organization to confront the need for change. Ideally, your boss will stand shoulder to shoulder with you, helping to pierce through denial and complacency.

In a
sustaining-success situation,
you require financial and technical resources to sustain the core business and exploit promising new opportunities. You also need periodic pushes to set stretch goals that will keep you from drifting into complacency.

The first step is to decide what resources—tangible and intangible—you must have to succeed. Identify the resources already available to you, such as experienced people or new products ready to be launched. Then identify the resources you will need help in obtaining. Ask yourself: “What exactly do I need from my boss?” The sooner you can articulate the resources you need, the sooner you can broach these requests in conversations with your boss.

It is best to put as much as possible on the table as early as possible. Try using the “menu” approach, by laying out the costs and benefits of different levels of resource commitment. “If you want my sales to grow 7 percent next year, I need investment of $
x
. If you want 10 percent growth, I will need $
y
.” Going back to the well too often is a sure way to lose credibility. If it takes some more time to get a handle on what resources you need to achieve specific goals, then so be it. Michael Chen negotiated for the necessary time—a critical resource—so he could avoid this problem.

Play or Change the Game?

You may be able to achieve your goals by playing the game according to the prevailing rules. If you can maneuver within the accepted cultural and political norms, your resource requests will be expected—and you will find it easier to get what you need.

In other situations—notably realignments and turnarounds— you may need to change or even abandon established ways of doing business. Your resource requests will probably be more sweeping, and failure to secure them more damaging. You will have to negotiate harder to get what you need. These circumstances call for being clear about how the situation, expectations, and resources all have to line up to give you a reasonable shot at success. Clarify your needs in your own mind before you enter these discussions, back them up with as much hard data as you can get, and prepare to explain exactly why you see certain resources as essential. Then stick to your guns. Keep coming back.

Enlist others to help make your case. Seek out allies within and outside your organization. It is better to push too hard than to slowly bleed to death.

Negotiate for Resources

As you seek commitments for resources, keep these principles of effective negotiation in mind:
Focus on underlying interests.
Probe as deeply as possible to understand the agendas of your boss and any others from whom you need to secure resources. What is in it for them?

Look for mutually beneficial exchanges.
Seek resources that both support your boss’s agenda and advance your own. Look for ways to help peers advance their agendas in return for help with yours.