A common problem I see again and again in my work is that of managers or leaders who hang on to the most interesting work for themselves, leaving their team members bored and with fewer opportunities for learning and progression. Surely anyone who says, ‘give me more work please, boss!’ should be celebrated. But it’s surprisingly common for bosses to hoard work and to see team members who want access to the interesting, challenging work as a threat.
If you find yourself working for a greedy manager, here’s my advice:
FRAME YOUR KEENNESS AS A BUSINESS NEED
Wrestling work out of their hands would be impossible – they’re the one in charge, after all. Frame requests for more work as a business need – what will benefit them as well as your team members? It may be that they don’t want to give over the work because they want to stay close to the client, or remain important. So how can you persuade them? Is it that it’ll free up more of his time for other important work? Is it that it’ll stop critical staff members from leaving? Is it because they’ve got exceptional skill in that area from previous work?
GET STRATEGIC
When they’re aware that you think your team needs more work, use a strategy that I think works really well with a prickly boss: look for glimmers of ‘good behaviour’, i.e. those few small projects which are being delegated well, and then use those as an opportunity to praise and give positive feedback. ‘Wow! That project that you passed on to Debbie and Niki is great – they’ve really got their teeth stuck into it.’ Or, ‘thanks for giving me a chance to get involved in the client presentation – I really needed a challenge.’ Then, when you are having a more general catch-up, you can say, ‘my team just do so much better when they have interesting work to do. Thanks for passing on so much recently. Some of them were threatening to leave before that, but now they’re happy to stay.’
LOOK OUTSIDE THEIR REMIT
Look for projects or tasks that you can create that provide challenge and interest to your team and that are outside the purview of your boss. Perhaps kickstarting a new work area, or exploring ideas for different ways of delivering projects…anything which gets them thinking in a fresh way, which has a benefit, and will provide the mental stimulation they are asking for.
Three resources on managing your boss:
- Why good upward management is important, and how to do it:
https://katiebest.com/why-your-firm-needs-good-upward-management/ - The right way to ask for more responsibility, for you or your team:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hvmacarthur/2019/03/01/the-right-way-to-ask-your-boss-for-more-responsibility/ - Dealing with a boss that’s moody or unpredictable (it’s about staying calm and calculating your best move):
https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-to-deal-with-a-boss-who-behaves-unpredictably
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