If you are anything like me you just want to come to work
and deliver the best services in the best environment possible and close the
day feeling like you have achieved a big one for the team.
Make friends, learn new stuff, the Basics ……nobody told me
that, this would not be enough, I did not get the memo that you also need to
learn the skill of nuanced office politics involved in handling your boss.
This should leave you querying why? if you are a professional
should your job not speak for itself, why should there be a feeling of walking
on egg shells because you don’t want to come across as quite aggressive to your
superiors, even when everyone knows you are correct, why can’t you just do your
work and speak up when you need to……that does work in some environments.
There are some Professionals out there, Bosses who do not
care if you say one word to them so long as you deliver on the job, but the
reality is that those kind of bosses are few and far between, That’s because we
are not yet in the robot age, until robots take our jobs and we are all a
keyboard away People skills matter.
“Man” is a social animal and the complexities of the
environment do affect a lot of his/her decisions ,this includes if you come
across to them as a Jackass. That might
have as much as Thirty silent Marks on your annual office performance
appraisal.
I have heard various
people throw the words around “well I am not a people person, I don’t have
people skills “or “you don’t see Mark Zuckerberg suck up to anybody “.
Darling unless you are a genius currently mixing the next
biggest cure to some deadly disease in some Science Lab or the owner of a
fortune 500 company or even your own boss you may need to learn the nuances of
Office Politics or you might find yourself with all your brilliance relegated
to the smallest office with no ventilation typing memo’s on your Computer all
day.
I kid you not I have witnessed the aftermath of a Boss
Versus Subordinate Intellectual show down in an office before and this young
man who challenged his boss tirelessly was effectively tossed around like a
ping pong until he left the system in frustration. You should not bite the
finger that feeds you.
So perhaps you are wondering how can one navigate this
unpleasant line, how do you consciously play down some of your unique talents so
as not to come across as arrogant, audacious or downright rude to your boss well think I have a few tips.
- Find something to like and respect about your boss: don’t shake your head in anger dig deep, there must be something to admire about the person who pays your bills, find your inner Chakra and learn to get along with them.
- Know your place in the hierarchy: There is a time and place for everyone that is why ants are very successful creatures. Nobody is saying you may not be the next Bill Gates. Bid your time, Prepare but understand that at that moment you are the subordinate.
- Focus on the positive: What’s more positive than getting paid? So your boss likes you to call him ( Grand Master Teddy Ronald) instead of TED, big deal call him that, People who enjoy obsequious service are small minded in my books anyway so accommodate the excesses to a limit and focus on the other perks of your job, or quit if you can’t stand the heat.
- Practice makes perfect: Breathe In Breathe out and Practice in the mirror, giving compliments never killed anyone, maybe you should start giving some out. If you’re Boss’s idea was fantastic during a meeting there is absolutely nothing wrong with joining the gang of forty behind you to also echo “Brilliant idea”.
- Be Polite and excellent at your job: Some people
(me included )will never be good at this butt licking thing , it’s just not in their books, but what they can do is try to always be polite and courteous and be so good at their jobs that no matter how much “The Boss” questions their attitude at least they get the job done.
In conclusion to answer the question should you suck up to
your Boss? My Answer is What’s it going to cost you?
If you can live with your new Sycophant self well good luck
with that, I will be busy bidding my time and preparing to take over the world
, let my subordinates worry about sucking up to my beautifully perched behind.
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