Is your professional relationship with your immediate supervisor or manager of value to you?
Do you feel that your manager recognizes your value? Do you feel that he/she understands your work? Do you talk (formally or informally) with your manager on a constant or regular basis? Does he/she provide advice and assistance to you?
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Hallie Gabor H.
Author at Get It Together- The Real-World Money Guide for Graduates
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I have had both types of managers. Right out of college, I was in mortgage sales in a high dollar area- many second homes. We had pagers- no cell phones and all went through the main office. I NEVER got a good mortgage of the amount that was average for the community. I was so frustrated and thought I was doing something wrong. My manager asked me to pull a file from his desk because he was in a hurry and I saw 10 files from my territory- could not believe it. I thought he was the greatest guy.
The last manager I had at a large bank was outstanding. She consistently gave credit to others when it was due. My value was recognized regularly with increased responsibly and increased salary. She recognized the value of all her employees. We spoke regularly about complex issues within the company and she mentored me regularly to make sure that I would be able to handle anything that I would be faced with. The difference in leadership was so noticeable as I loved my job and loved working with her.
She had a high level understanding of the departments that I managed. She could have come in and managed my staff easily. In terms of doing the every day work, we had excellent written procedures in place in case she would need to actually do the work.
Mike M.
LTE Project Manager at WesTower Communications
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My boss is the owner of the company.
I wouldn't be around if he didn't understand what I do and appreciate it. We talk both formally and informally several times a week. He provides the big picture direction and I focus on how best to implement it to ensure the company makes money and the employees work well together.
I think the closer the relationship - such that you almost get to the point were they think something and you can read his mind and understand what he wanted to say, that is when things run smoothly and you, your boss, and the company get the biggest benefit from the relationship.
Spending 8 to 12 hours a day plus weekends living, breathing, and loving the business means you must be in synch. Anything less and everyone is going down in flames.
Thanks for the insightful question.
Mike
Melissa C.
Experienced Immigration Attorney
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I have had both as well and I definitely find value in a professional relationship with a manager. All too often though I've seen immediate supervisors fail to recognize the value in someone, whether it was work related or otherwise. From my observations over the years many superiors unfortunately find too much value in what status level you come from, where you went to school, what school your children are going to, etc. If the employee doesn't fit in, they are conveniently incompetent all of sudden. I am not only speaking from personal experience but from watching the treatment of others as well. When I have had a supervisor who valued my differences (and saw individuality as a subjective instead of objective) then the working environment was much more productive and pleasant. Pride is a big thing with many managers unfortunately. It takes a "big" man/woman to admit and say to an employee "you did a great job." The true test is when they can say it to an employee that they may not like personally. If they can acknowledge a job well done by that employee, then they have my respect and would be valued by me.
Scott M.
Oracle Application Analyst at Atmos Energy
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I wonder how many people can answer this honestly, since it's likely their manager is on LinkedIn also ;)
Clarification added November 12, 2009:
Generally, I think there is a trend these days towards “under-management”. With much leaner companies, managers have many more direct reports than before. They can’t get as involved in their employee’s work.
Since there are fewer managers, the long pipeline for management that provided a lot of management training and coachin no longer exists. Managers are promoted into positions with little training ahead of time, nor do they get much of coaching afterwards, because there are fewer experienced managers around with time to do it.
On top of that, management does not have as many perks as before, so people are reluctant to take on the position. For this reason and the other reasons above, companies create ‘leadership’ positions; quasi-managers who somehow split the difference between individual contributor and manager, and doing neither one very well (and also given no training).
All the while, employees are told to ‘manage you manager’ and ‘take responsibility for the relationship with your manager’.
Who’s actually in control here?
While it is always a good thing for employees to be ‘empowered’ and take control of their jobs, the fact remains that most employees were hired for a very specific set of skills. The more time they have to spend making up for a lack of management, the less valuable they are to the company for the job they were hired to do. Employees are happy when ambiguity and uncertainty are minimized in their jobs, so they can focus on their core strengths. A good manager knows how to do this by removing most (not all) of the management responsibilities from his employees, allowing them the freedom to focus on their jobs. A great book on this subject is “Why employees don’t do that they are supposed to do, and what to do about it” by Ferdinand F Fournies.
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Steven B.
Senior Financial and Business Professional, Board Member & Devoted Father
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Yes!
Susan S.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., financial marketing writer.
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It's of tremendous value.
