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How To Balance Boss And Staff – 3 Tactics For Managers To Keep Both Happy · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look after your boss and you are in trouble at work whatever your position.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look after your team as a manager and you could lose your job.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: How to balance boss and staff, especially when the demands they place on you are in direct conflict.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I share three tactics for managers to keep both happy so you have a very happy boss and an equally happy team.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is surprisingly easy to find yourself stuck in the middle with one or both parties unhappy with you, which makes being at work unpleasant.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Don't improve the situation, and chances are your management career will also take a nosedive in the near future.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: For how to balance boss and staff, I suggest you employ these three tactics for managers to keep both parties happy: being firstly understand the needs, secondly, skillfully and pragmatically manage expectations, and third, master delegating and developing.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of skills involved, and balancing the demands of both boss and team is not easy.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Work hard at these three areas and you put yourself in the best position to have a team and boss that love you.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Think of the manager as a pilot.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Your team is the plane, your boss is air traffic control and your passengers wrapped into one.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: When your plane is well maintained, it will fly you and your passengers to the planned destination trouble free.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: This keeps your boss very happy.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as you don't maintain your plane, all hell breaks loose.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: It might crash, the engines might fail, you might run out of fuel, bits might fall off, the plane is going to be very unhappy, and so is your boss.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Without your plane working well, there is not much you can do as a pilot.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Your team performing well gives you the tools to help your boss meet their goals, which will keep them happy.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: So the first important tactic for how to balance boss and team is to understand the needs.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Find out exactly what your boss wants and needs.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Understand their long-term goals.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Discuss team and function objectives with your boss and understand what your team is responsible for delivering.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Understand your boss's ambitions, their alliances and rivals with other leaders.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Find out what pressures your boss is under and what they need to deliver this week and this month.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, find out what each of your team members want, what their strengths, their interests and their ambitions are.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Where do they want to be next year and in five years' time?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: What do they love doing and what do they hate doing?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: What are the gaps in their skills which will prevent them from taking the next step to meet their ambitions?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: When you have a good understanding of all the needs of the people you work with and rely on, you can start planning and balancing these needs against the decisions you make and the actions you take.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is like driving at night with the full beam headlights on, navigating a winding road.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: You are unlikely to go wrong.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't make the effort to really find out and understand the wants and needs of those you work with, it is like driving at night without any headlights on a winding road.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Staying on the road is not going to happen.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: When you're working between two important parties you rely on, always make the effort to understand all the wants and needs around you.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can then plan a sensible route to navigate between all the different conflicts and challenges thrown in front of you.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can educate both parties about what each other want.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: With good alignment and communication, you are much more likely to keep both parties very happy.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced Dot Training provides resources and courses for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I have included links to additional resources in the podcast description to give you a range of actions that you should take so your team and boss absolutely love you.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Do take a look at these.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: So the second important tactic for how to balance boss and staff is to skillfully and pragmatically manage expectations.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Managing expectations really well is a blend of clear communication, sensible planning, and careful negotiation.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: A great measure of success in managing expectations is that there are no surprises for your boss or for your team.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: A great starting point is to set expectations for both boss and team, to agree clear goals for the team with your boss.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Don't agree to goals that you don't believe your team can achieve.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can either translate the team goals into individual goals relevant to each job in your team, or better still, you can work with your team members as a group and decide on the individual goals, activities and projects that the team is going to do to achieve team goals.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then as a manager, overcommunicate progress against all the goals to individuals, the team and your boss.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Keep all parties aware of the challenges, issues, lack of resources and anything else that slows or stops progress.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just as important, shout about all the wins, the successes, and when individuals and the team are on track to beat goals early.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Practice realism in terms of what you and the team can deliver.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Plan carefully and allow sensible levels of contingency so you and your team can deliver what you agree to on time.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: As we all know, plans have to change due to unforeseen events.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Always communicate changes at the earliest opportunity and renegotiate what is going to be delivered when.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, have the courage to say no and explain why you are saying no.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Saying no is very powerful when leading a team.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you and your team space and focus to do a good job rather than a rushed job.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is important for building confidence, trust, and reputation for reliability.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The third important tactic for how to balance boss and staff is to master delegating and developing your team.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Learning to delegate work very effectively to your team gives you freedom as a manager.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: By delegating effectively, I mean you consistently get back exactly what you want when you want it with no surprises.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: The most important area to get good at is following up without annoying, upsetting, or reducing the other person's responsibility.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: In my experience, most managers are okay at outlining what has to be done and how.training and take a look at all the resources available to help you build your management expertise and confidence years faster.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on how to balance boss and staff, three tactics for managers to keep both happy, please email me at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.