After we talked about my taking responsibility for …These bosses may be victims of overwhelming schedules or of their own management styles—big picture, visionary, and incapable of seeing details. Regardless, your mission is to help them help you. That means you must control your frustration and put in your own controls. This section provides some perfect phrases that can help.
Sure, your boss is a good person. An expert in the field. And fully capable of managing a great employee like you … if only … he or she could remember your last conversation and the last decision that was made. So you need to remind this boss. Not once, but before starting every discussion. And be discreet—you don’t want to embarrass your boss or put your boss on the defensive. Here are some perfect conversation starters:
After we talked about my taking responsibility for …
As we discussed last Friday, I am going to compile information about …
Since you told me to assign Julie responsibility for …
Clarence has rearranged the plans, as you recommended, but now we need to …
When we talked last week, you said that we should shift gears and work on …
In your e-mail, when you said I should train the whole team, were you including …
So that each employee participates equally, as you recommended in the managers’ meeting, we have reassigned roles and responsibilities.
The only way for managers to pass the test that you require is for them to receive …
The results that you intended can happen if we …
To reach your goal of … we need to …
Everyone thinks your goal of … is a great idea. To make that happen, we’re proposing …
So we can hire the right employees and ramp up quickly, as you stated in your project meeting last week …
Make sure your results are positive and in line with your boss’s goals. Notice the difference between negative and positive positioning:
Negative: We’ll miss our deadlines for the client’s proposal unless you assign Larry to our team.
Positive: We’ll be sure to make our deadlines for the client’s proposal if you assign Larry to our team.
Negative: We won’t get our budget the same as last year unless we …
Positive: We can get our budget and perform the same as last year if we …
Negative: Our customer rating will never improve unless we add the new …
Positive: Our customer rating can improve if we add the new …
General: Marcie can really contribute to this project, so I’d like to …
Specific: Marcie can contribute financial expertise to the project, so I’d like to …
General: We can expedite processes if we …
Specific: We can get the product from the factory to the warehouse 25 percent faster if we …
General: We can get a great return on our investment if we …
Specific: We can possibly increase profits by 40 percent if we …
If something goes wrong because you were following instructions but your boss blames you for it, remind your boss about what he or she requested you to do—and forgot:
In your e-mail on Friday, you said that I should …
I was following your instructions from the team meeting.
In your office, you changed the project plan and assigned me that responsibility, and you said David should …
Because Sherrie had to go on leave, you said I should take over. You also recommended that I …
If your boss gives you an assignment but then assigns someone else the task when you’re halfway through, here are some ways for you to get back on track. For example, if you have had great results and want to continue with the project, show the results first:
I have the results that you asked for in January. Do you want me to continue with this project, or should Hector take over?
So far, I’ve … I’d like to continue if that’s okay.
My next step is to … Should I continue?
I assembled the team and drafted a project management plan. Now that I have some momentum, I’d like to keep going.
If your boss seems hesitant about allowing you to remain with it or if the project won’t be jeopardized if you leave it, finish your statement by offering to move on (or back) to something else:
If you like, I can continue with the … that I started in May.
I can put this on hold if you want me to.
At this point, Larry can take over and we won’t lose any momentum.
I haven’t talked to the clients yet, so they have no expectations. If you want Julie to jump in, the transition should be smooth.
If you want me to stop, I can.
I can always give my notes to the team and go back to the other project.
If you like, I can give the update in the meeting. I know the subject well, and that way, you won’t have to prepare anything.
Quick tip: Write down your boss’s instructions so that you can refer to them later. Did the boss give you instructions on the fly? Mention them at a meeting? Write them down and e-mail them to everyone involved. And yes, send a copy to the boss. Always.