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Six Steps To Ensure Your Boss Wont Suck The Life Right Out of You

The reality of the high-paced business world is that high performing leaders will suck the life right out of you if you let them. This is because most highly successful leaders are extremely focused on how they manage and use their time and where they spend their energy, and they subconsciously assume that everyone else is as well.

Many employees who feel like they have become overworked will make the mistake that their leader is being purposely unreasonable with their demands. The fact is that high-achiever, A-type personality leaders rarely make these demands on their direct reports knowing that they are making major intrusions on their personal time. They do not always stop to think if the person being tasked has enough time to do what we are asking, or already has too many other priorities. Most certainly do not make the assumption that the person will be expected to give up their evenings and weekends to get the job done.

To prevent your supervisor from working the life out of you, you should attempt the following:

  • Regular One-on-One Meetings. Insist on regular (I recommend every two weeks) one-on-one meetings with your supervisor to ensure that he/she remains aware of how much is on your plate. This allows you to ensure you are working on the right priorities and not wasting your precious time on issues that may no longer be relevant or that may have dropped in the organizational priorities list. These one-on-one meetings will also allow you to subtly remind your supervisor that you have a full load because he/she may have forgotten the list of issues and projects that you have been tasked with, in addition to the workload of your core responsibilities.

  • Take Charge of What is Next. If your workload has stabilized and you feel you can take more on, your boss has likely noticed it as well. Be proactive and approach your supervisor with a clear description of the type of challenges you are looking to take on so that when he/she requires you to take something on, it will be in line with your expectations and therefore be motivating for you to work on. Being motivated makes time sacrifices much easier to take. If, on the other hand, this lull in activity follows a hectic time and you need a bit of a break before ramping up again, let him/her know. Most leaders will appreciate and respect your situation.

  • Have The Conversation. If you have become overworked, have the conversation with your supervisor. He/she might not be aware. Especially if you are a high performer, your boss might be assuming that you are looking for more and more challenges and that you are managing well. Have a meeting and present all the projects you are working on and how much they demand of you. Suggest projects that could be reassigned to others in the organization or deliverables that can be delayed. If you are well prepared, reasonable, and demonstrate a keen understanding of your boss’ priorities, most supervisors will understand and try to adjust.

  • Regain Control of Your Agenda. The problem might not be with your boss overtasking you, but with you not managing your time properly. I have seen many employees become overworked because they had lost control of their own agendas. They were attending way too many weekly meetings on topics that were not in line with my priorities and our stated business objectives. They were too nice and unable to refuse meeting requests. If you fall in that category, take action and start to say no to demands that are not in your priorities.

  • Improve Your Time Management. I have often had to suggest time management training for some of my leaders. Be proactive and determine, through some serious introspection, if you are in need of a time management course. If you conclude that you are, do your research and find out which programs would be most beneficial for you. Over the years, many young leaders or newly promoted supervisors have thanked me for forcing them to attend a good time management program. The tools they learned served them throughout the rest of their careers.

  • Learn to Delegate. Delegation is a skill that must be learned. There is a right way to delegate and the higher you move up the organization, the more you will depend on the proper use of delegation to remain successful.

Regularly reviewing how well you are doing with the 6 approaches above will allow you to regain control over your work, make better use of your time to achieve your goals and the organizational goals, and will greatly improve your ability to manage your boss.


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