Empowering Your Manager

If you have a manager who is inspired, empowered, and in control, then you are very lucky. If your manager is not one of these things and instead struggles to carry out their job effectively for any number of reasons, here are five things you can do to help them.

1) Support Them

This is the most important thing that anyone on the team can do for their manager: be there to support them. This might mean taking work off their plate when they're overworked or going through tough times. It can also mean checking in with them periodically throughout the course of a day or week just to make sure they're ok (whether they will admit it or not!).

2) Give Them Feedback

This is a no brainer: always give your boss feedback. There are a few things to keep in mind for this when you're giving your boss feedback:

- Always be specific about what you liked and didn't like about their performance. How was the meeting? How was the presentation? Why did you have to take over?

- Keep in mind the kind of feedback that will make the most impact on them, including the following 3 types:

a. What did you think of our work today? When I came on this morning, I could tell you were feeling overwhelmed. I know you have a lot on your plate and I'm glad you took the time to come in today and take care of it.

b. How can I help you? I thought we ran into some hurdles at our first meeting today, between the two of us.

c. What can I do to make things easier for you? As hard as it is for me to ask this, if there's anything that would help me get through this tough patch, please let me know!

- Do not use direct criticism in your feedback (and if you're not sure how to do that, check out our article on Criticism).

3) Encourage and Support Them

Another very important thing that you can do is encourage and support your boss. For example, if they're feeling overwhelmed by something, give them some breathing room by giving them a 30 minute window in the afternoon when you know they will be less busy. Or, if there's a problem at work that they're having trouble dealing with, let them know that you're here to help them through it. This support and encouragement will be the key to getting your boss to open up and share their problems with you.

4) Encourage and Support Them

There is also an aspect of encouraging and supporting your manager that is equally important: giving them a chance to encourage and support you. This is a win/win for both of you because it will encourage them to tell you what's really going on at work, which in turn inspires and pushes you forward as well. This can be done in two ways:

a) Tell them stories about how they've helped or supported you in the past. This will remind them of the good things they have done for you, thereby encouraging your manager to give more support and encouragement to you.

b) Let them know what's going on with you at work including:

i. How you're feeling about a project that is going on

ii. The challenges or problems that you are facing at the moment

iii. The resources that would help get things back on track for you (such as time, budget, or people who can help)

When your manager can see what is going on with you, it will encourage them to support and encourage you as well.

5) Help Them Use Their Authority

This is not to be confused with encouraging them to use their authority, which we have already covered. But it's very important in the case of your manager because this sets them up for success. Instead of discouraging their boss from making changes or allowing them to feel unsure about the decisions they make, try to make sure your manager knows that you're on their side and always there for them no matter what. This way you can help your manager uphold their authority and prevent them from being undermined by others who don't see things the way that you do.

Congratulations! You have just empowered your manager. If you've got any suggestions on how to further empower your boss, leave a comment below!

Tags: employee management, managers, motivation Posted in Employee Management | No Comments » 62 Ways to Empower Your Manager

by Positive Motivation This article is a supplement to the article – "Empowering Your Team" which was published on 10 October 2010.

When I was volunteering with a disaster relief organization, one of the most common questions I heard from students was: "What can I do to help?" The answer is simple: do anything you can. However, we always find ways to make things a little more complicated. So, the question is not: "What can I do to help?" The question is: "What can I do to help in the most efficient way possible?"

This article will go into length about how you can empower your manager and help in the most efficient way possible. Remember, what you do will be multiplied and have greater impact especially if you're in a leadership position. So read on!

By empowering your manager, you are giving him or her greater freedom and control over their job so that they can do their job better. Remember, it's not about what you can do for them, but rather how you can empower them to do their job better.

1. Make Sure that Your Manager Knows What You're Doing

A lot of times we run into problems with managers when we don't let them know about the work that we're doing for them. It's wonderful when you can let your manager know all of the details about the work that you're doing for him or her so that they are fully aware (and so are you!). This way they know exactly who you are and what your role is to help them with their job, thereby giving them total control over it which ultimately benefits all of us.

2.

Conclusion:

The way you empower your manager will depend on your values and relationship with your manager. The most important thing is to use your own best judgement when you're empowering them. For example, empowering a manager who is more comfortable with a company-autocratic style may be different from empowering a manager who is more comfortable in a grass-roots type environment. If you figure that out, then you're halfway there!

3. Encourage and Support Them

As I mentioned in the article on "Empowering Your Team", encouraging and supporting someone builds up their confidence and allows them to feel better about themselves, thereby improving their work performance.