New Boss? You Need These Survival Tips

Michel Theriault
Thu, 23 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

One of the biggest risks to your career is when you get a new boss. Gone is the understanding of your performance and contribution and the good working relationship you had with your previous manager.

Now you have to start all over again.

Even worse, sometimes that new boss was hired to make changes or they simply want to put their own stamp on the organization. Sometimes that change ends up being you.

During this critical change, you must be proactive and strategic. Here are some survival tips you can use to break in your new boss and keep your job:

Start before you get a new boss

If most of your interactions at the level above you are solely with your old boss, and his or her peers don’t know you or value your contributions, you are at a major disadvantage when your boss leaves.

To prevent this, extend your interactions and work to build relationships within the company beyond your manager so other people can become part of your support network. This takes time and effort and sometimes a very light step depending on your current supervisor’s approach, but you will be rewarded when he or she leaves. It is also one way to get considered for replacing your boss. If the decision makers don’t know enough about you, it’s hard for them to consider you for the role.

Learn all you can about your new boss

If you know in advance, do some research on your new manager. If not, you’ll have to wait until the person is announced or, sometimes, after they show up.

This research is crucial to understanding what makes the new person tick, what is important to them, how they have handled or managed staff before, and what issues or risks you need to look out for.

Start with a LinkedIn search. If they are in your network, you can find out where they came from and what companies they have worked for. Find common connections or check your own connections to see if someone worked in their previous company, and ask your contact what they know. Do some legwork and try to learn as much as you can about your new boss, preferably before you first meet.

Beyond LinkedIn, you can do a simple Google search. That may reveal associations they are involved with, past initiatives, presentations or talks they have given, or other background information that can help you understand them better.

Even more important, when you finally do meet the person, ask what their preferred approach is when it comes to meetings, status reports, workplace communication, or anything else related to your position. Instead of assuming they will operate like your old boss or they will immediately like how you operate, you should ask. If it is different from your approach, you have an opportunity to sell them on your way of doing things—or at least know you will have to work with it until you can convince them to change.

Pass the interview

Often, the new boss will meet with their new direct reports to learn as much as they can about you, your department, and issues or opportunities. Don’t look at this as a simple meeting where you are sharing information and “bringing them up to speed.” This is a job interview and you need to sell yourself.

If you managed to learn more about your boss before this meeting happens, you’ll be better equipped to sell yourself because you will know your audience. If not, you still need to consider what a new boss would need, what to share, what to hold back (at least for now), and how to best position yourself and what you do.

Understand what others say

Your new boss will be in a learning mode, particularly if they are new to your company or your division. They will talk to and listen to many others, including their new direct reports, their peers, and their own manager or other senior management they interact with.

You need to have a good idea of what others may say about you, your department, or your staff so you can provide a counterpoint to misinformation or misunderstandings in a proactive manner. Do this carefully; don’t just say, “So and so will tell you this, but they are wrong.”

Instead, knowing what might be said to your new boss, simply share background information and the facts so that, when they are told something, they will be better able to understand the issues in context.

Don’t Attack Others

It’s tempting to tell your boss that your underperforming colleague isn’t doing a very good job, or point fingers at others around you to make your new boss think you are the high achiever on the team.

That would be a mistake. What you can do is arm him or her with information and even questions to ask so they discover for themselves what you already know. This is a much more powerful approach than saying bad things about others—even when they are true.

Evolve Your Style

Let’s face it: you may have to change to fit your new supervisor’s style or expectations. If you want to stay and thrive, you must be flexible enough to make any changes needed to satisfy your boss and develop the understanding and trust necessary to move forward together.