Have
you ever know what it feels like, when your boss is giving a lecture at the institute
you post graduated from on the topic “How to handle your first boss?” who in
fact, is your first boss?
Being
a Campus Hiring & Engagement Manager, I receive a lot of invitations from
different management and Engineering institutes for scheduling guest lectures
with the organization’s Who’s- who and top leaders. I received a similar
request from the institute I post graduated from. My professor called me up one
evening and asked if I could send one of the senior leaders for a guest lecture
on Saturday.
After
being told the topic, the only person that came to my mind (obviously) was my boss,
Harjeet Khanduja. The topic was “How to handle your 1st boss”. And I knew none
other than him could do justice to it.
The
lecture went amazingly well and the students were glued till the last minute.
Sharing some nuggets from today’s session :
1. Made some mistake?
Tell your boss, NOW
If you have made some mistake, don’t hush it under the
carpet. You should be the first one to tell it to your boss. What will happen
at the max? You will be scolded? Some tough words? It’s okay. That’s way better
than facing embarrassment at a later stage in front of 10 other people.
2. Be your Boss’s Brand
Ambassador
This doesn’t mean roaming around with a make-up it, obviously!
Praising your boss when he is not around works wonders. Firstly, it makes your
boss look good in front of other people. And secondly, when he would come to
know that were talking good about him in his absence, you become his unofficial
brand ambassador. And who doesn’t like one?
3. Weekly tracker
It is very important for your manager to know what you
are up to professionally. He/ she may not look into your operations every single
day, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want to know. So don’t wait for them
to ask. Mail them your weekly report/ tracker religiously.
4. Professional Loyalty
There is a thing known as professional loyalty. When
someone from the organization asks for any data, either ask your boss before
sending or keep him informed and in loop. This way you can avoid surprises
and/or backlashes.
5. Patience
Just as you are trying to figure out all about your
boss, similarly he too is in the process of understanding you. In the initial
few months, patience is the key. If he/she loses their mind over some mistake
of yours, it’s okay. It is probably because he got late for a meeting, hasn’t had
breakfast yet, got a left, right and center from his own boss for something
that does not even concern him. So you may want to re-think before assassinating
him in your head!
6. Tell him your
strengths and weaknesses
Your manager may have 10 different people or more
reporting into him. And he may or may not know what your strengths, and most
importantly your weaknesses are. So what do you do? Tell him. Candid and
honest.
I will give you my own example.
When it comes to people management, I know what to do. But
when it comes to numbers, I do get a little sweaty. So the other day over
lunch, I told my colleagues and Harjeet was also sitting with us, that how I used
to get beaten up from my father for scoring awfully in mathematics. That I hated
Chemistry because there was a “2” in “H2O”. And believe me guys, I am not exaggerating.
Now he knows what my weakness is, and has started
investing time in turning it into one of my strengths. He is also ensures that
when I am playing with data, he gives it a green signal before sending/
publishing.
7. Build rapport in
other departments
You never know what kind of work may come up one fine
day. Building rapport with people from other department will not only make your
own network stronger, but it will also help you in times where your work requires
you to compile data or interact with biggies from other departments.
These
are some of the major points that have made a mark in my mind. I don’t have the
right words to explain what the feeling is like. It is as if a woman taking a
lecture for all the men out there on “How to understand a woman”. Do you get it
now? How important and valuable those words would be. Well I hope you do.
I
am signing off on a happy note. I hope your first boss (and every boss after
that) is like my first boss!
Would
love to know your first boss experiences. Drop your comments below.
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