With all the input about managing up, working with difficult bosses and the difficulties of getting useful feedback, what really should you expect from your boss. It's an issue that Jack and Suzy Welch answered in a BusinessWeek column. Much of what Welch writes is focused on upper level managers, and some of it is 20th century stuff, so I want to translate and adapt the material for Gen-Yers and the 21st century.
What was interesting about the column setup was that Jack believed that "bad bosses are few and far between," while Suzy, his wife, believed that bosses "who manipulate and torment," were more prevalent. Most of their friends agreed with Suzy. What none of these discussions seem to surface is the fact that some of us are very sensitive while others are not especially so. Those who are more sensitive might have a very different view of the same boss than those who are not. After a while these definitions of bad versus good bosses are not really that useful. For some, they may be a cause of frustration while for others they have no significant bad effects. Thus, the set of expectations Jack and Suzy lay out should be instructive for all of us.
However, since the Welches tend to focus on more senior managers, I will adapt their input to Generation Y.
First, they believe you have the right to expect two candid performance appraisals a year. Today, performance appraisals get less and less attention for a number of reasons. Most performance appraisals in even the best companies are largely a waste of time and most employees know that. Feedback and appraisals are valuable only in the context of your work, and time often renders them of little value. You have the right to expect feedback input once a month and that would be generous for 95% of professionals. What that means is that you're going to have to learn to get a useful session with your boss. It also means that it's inappropriate to expect more than one session a month. If you get more than that, good for you.
It's reasonable to expect a boss who doesn't play favorites. That's certainly true, but it's not much of a big deal for most professionals. Favoritism grows more easily in hierarchical settings--old GE, GM and Ford. Indeed, if you think someone is a favorite, there are often two important things going on. That person is a solid performer and he/she also knows how to manage the boss. Both of those behaviors can be learned. If you're frustrated with the attention someone is getting, you know how to change the relationship: solid performance in the achievement of the boss's goals and managing up. I've known exceptions to those rules, but the state of demands, change and innovation are so pervasive today that most who might play favorites have no time for the game.
It's reasonable to expect your boss to support you when you're in the middle of important performance situations. Although you may expect your boss to know when you need help, remember he/she is not a mind reader. You'll need to communicate your need, and it is appropriate to expect support at that time.
Finally, it's resonable to expect that your boss will have a significant degree of integrity. She should be able to be trusted, and you should be able to expect a degree of fairness about the relationship and her performance. Bosses can't always be as transparent as we might like for strategic reasons. Furthermore, some people are more valuable to the ongoing success of the firm than others. Reality says that if your skills are not at the core competence of the firm you may not get the straight skinny all the time. It's a case of wants versus needs. You should be able to get what you need, but you can't count on getting what you want.
Welches' last paragraph is exceedingly appropos:
We understand that we're in an economic period when beggers--read, most employees--can't exactly be choosers about their bosses. We also know how much a boss can affect your quality of life. Bottom line, then: Go ahead and hope for the best, but be prepared to settle for a realistic set of expectations.
What's been your experience? What do you think?