My boss and my time Tutorial

Unlock the secrets to effective boss-employee collaboration in "my boss and my time." Discover why spending time with your boss can boost motivation and productivity. Learn strategies for managing your time together and how to handle situations when your boss is too present or absent. Don't miss these valuable insights into assertiveness and courage in the workplace!

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It is with them

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that we define our objectives,

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that we discuss each crucial step of a project,

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and that we report on the progress of our projects.

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Our time with them is sacred

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just as their time with us is sacred.

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How can we optimize it for everyone's benefit?

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We will first tackle

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why we need to spend time with our boss,

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then how to be allies in time management,

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and finally what to do when our boss is too present or not present enough.

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Why spend time with your boss?

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Who needs it?

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You,

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them,

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the company,

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really?

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Spending time with one or several colleagues is a huge cost of time and money.

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Do you really need to spend this time with your boss?

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If this nurtures your motivation

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and or your efficiency,

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then absolutely,

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otherwise.

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We often address others when we need some information

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they have before taking action or a decision.

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That's why I recommend sharing information on

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a collaborative tool within the team.

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So I have a question.

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I'll check online first to see if I can find an answer.

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Here are 4 good reasons to spend time with your boss

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solving a problem.

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But do you really need one another?

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2,

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to answer a question,

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but can you find the answer yourself online or by asking another colleague?

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3,

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to work on a common file.

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But did you distribute the tasks on this project

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so you can make progress without one another?

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4,

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to update them on the file's progress.

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But did you provide a reporting table so they can access the information

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outside your meetings?

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The time spent with your boss has to be a win-win situation,

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ideally.

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Does it benefit my boss if I bother him with such on such an issue?

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And conversely,

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how does the employee benefit from his boss bothering

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the employee on such and such a subject?

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Every meeting has to be a win-win situation,

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otherwise it's not cooperation,

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it's a game of draining each other's time

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and energy.

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How can you be allies in managing time

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by conducting efficient meetings with your boss?

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Here are 3 questions to ask yourself beforehand

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to prepare for the meeting with your boss.

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Question 1.

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What are the priorities and needs of my boss?

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If you don't know,

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ask them.

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How can I satisfy them?

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How can I help them?

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We rarely ask ourselves the question of how to

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understand our bosses needs and how to help them.

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We rarely position ourselves as equals.

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Second question,

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what does my boss expect from me?

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The priorities that have been set and which he or she expects me to fulfill.

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By preparing these two questions prior to the meeting,

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you'll come up with answers to their needs and questions.

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He or she will then be much more receptive to your needs and questions.

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The last preparation question is what are the points I want to discuss with them

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today.

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Then,

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when faced with them,

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get to the point.

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Here are my two questions.

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Here are my 3 requests.

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Here are my two suggestions.

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Another tip is to turn your boss into an ally of your time.

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Explain your relationship with time to them

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and understand his or hers.

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Everyone is different.

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Are you monottasked or not?

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Do you prefer morning meetings?

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Would you like to have an afternoon with no interruptions every week?

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Do you need more flexibility and autonomy?

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Would you rather have a 5 minute talk every day or a 1 hour meeting per week?

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Tell them also what your time enemies are,

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where you are likely to slip.

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Are you too much of a perfectionist?

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Can you say no to demands?

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Do you struggle to focus after you've been interrupted?

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In a win-win relationship,

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try to understand their relationship with time as well,

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so that you can adjust better to one another.

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What to do if your boss is too present for your liking?

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Do you feel like you waste too much time with an omnipresent boss?

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It goes as far as demotivating you.

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What can you do?

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The omnipresence of the manager is an unadjusted parental attitude.

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Either you are dealing with a controlling parent manager who needs things

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to be done their way according to their own rules and processes.

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They want to make sure that everything is done

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right.

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They want to be informed of everything.

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In short,

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they need to monitor

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everything.

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They are afraid of slipping.

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They are afraid it will get out of hand if they let go of control.

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So they are a very stressed person,

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even if they don't show it and think they have a duty to be super present

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behind everyone's back micromanaging.

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If you react like a conforming and obedient child

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by letting them conduct their monitoring rounds or

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look over your shoulder with controlling questions,

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your life will be hell.

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If you react by dismissing them or by sighing.

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You'll have adopted the rebellious child attitude which will only reinforce their

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conviction that they are right to monitor the child that you are.

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So

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I invite you to speak to your boss,

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adult to adult.

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Ask them concretely on which points they need information

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and at what frequency.

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In short,

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negotiate a written or oral report with them.

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Which on one hand will satisfy at least their need to control and to be reassured

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and on the other wouldn't take up too much of your time

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after reassuring them on the reporting topic,

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tell them that you need autonomy because

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it fosters your motivation and efficiency,

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then negotiate firmly.

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If your manager is hyper presents

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thinking that it's for your own good,

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it's probably because they are adopting the nurturing parent position.

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Some managers regularly interrupt and bother their

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collaborators thinking that they enjoy their attention,

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thinking that their collaborators need them.

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Sometimes

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their attention and questioning can look like monitoring.

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So tell these overly attentive managers that everything is going well.

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Tell them that you need to focus and be alone to make progress on your files.

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Reassure them

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that you'll solicit them if you ever have a question or need help.

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As a last resort,

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you can play on the heart strings of

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your nurturing manager by delegating tasks to them.

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You tell them that you do actually need them and give them a task.

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It will keep them busy.

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In general,

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with a hyper present manager,

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ask for autonomy and negotiate meeting and reporting times.

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If your boss is too absent for your liking,

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what can you do?

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First,

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take it as a chance,

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an opportunity to become autonomous quickly,

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even if you encounter moments of failure that could have been avoided.

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I know a company CEO who used to complain about their employees

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coming to them with questions they already had the answers to.

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This CEO told me that their job was to make the employees express their own answers.

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However,

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the CEO was surprised that they continued to come to them.

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They did not realize that it was very comfortable for them.

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As their solutions were being formulated in front of the CEO,

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they didn't have to take any risks.

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It was like the director had validated their.

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Decisions

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realizing that their empowerment strategy had been hijacked,

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the director learned to shorten the meetings and to say,

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you have the answer,

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I trust you.

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Gradually their employees stopped knocking on the door

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or only did so for crucial issues.

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Yes,

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sometimes bosses are right not to be available at all times.

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If you really need a more available boss on a project

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or if your boss is really overworked,

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you can negotiate with them.

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Andrea,

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boss,

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I need you on this issue.

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But I can relieve you of this one if you can trust me with this file.

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In any case,

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don't let your boss's absence get in the way of your projects.

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Here are some suggestions of messages you could send your boss Andrea,

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ideally by email,

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to keep track.

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For instance,

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Andrea,

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I need to speak to you for 10 minutes about the alpha file.

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I suggest such a day and time.

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The file should be finished by February 28th at the latest.

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If you're flexible and you know that your boss's schedule is tighter,

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suggest several possible dates instead of one.

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Some people need actually many date options,

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but for others,

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never do that.

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Limit options simply suggest a time and a date.

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Another example to get your boss's attention,

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make a connection between your request and one of the boss's main objectives.

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It will make them want to answer you.

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Andrea,

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I need information on the Y file

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to get everything ready for your administration board.

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Another example of what to tell your absent boss.

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Andrea,

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I understand that you don't have time to look in the Z file.

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I suggest to put it on standby

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until our next meeting.

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Maybe that will make Andrea react.

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Or

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Andrea,

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can you delegate the task of validating the first stage of the project to Martin

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so that I can continue working on it?

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Or

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if we can't see each other before such a date,

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then I'm going to have to make decisions on my own,

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but I need some crucial information

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and be clear on the missing information.

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You can add to any email without an answer from you,

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this is what I will do,

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or

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if we can't meet before a certain date,

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this is what I will do.

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As a last resort,

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say,

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Andrea,

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we couldn't meet on the Miranda file.

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I have to finish it by tomorrow.

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This is the decision I've made.

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I'm available for any questions.

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