Getting off on the right foot with a new boss
December 16, 2012 9:35 AM   Subscribe

Any tips on getting off on the right foot with a new boss? The new person has delayed her transfer date a few times, and is coming into a government office where budget cuts mean reduced services to clients and less prestige for the office--and for her as its head.

Although she won't arrive until February, she's started to take an interest in things from afar, and this has annoyed the management team, who have been filling the gap left by her predecessor. Plus she has made a few promises she won't be able to keep, and this has me nervous despite her positive reputation. People say she is bright and humane, but has trouble being strategic and saying "no" to requests from the public and her own bosses. I am worried that this could mean work overload for me and my team, who are working extremely hard with fewer resources than we had last year.

As her deputy, I want to be positive and helpful but realistic without being a naysayer. Has anyone dealt with this, or better, been on the other side of the situation? If so, what did you appreciate, and what drove you nuts?
posted by rpfields to Work & Money (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Go to her in private and as her deputy, give her the pragmatic, political lay of the land without selling anyone out. What she chooses to do with that information is on her head.
posted by hobo gitano de queretaro at 10:13 AM on December 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


If by "taking an interest" you mean that she is establishing objectives and performance reporting mechanisms, cooperate with them, and stamp out any insubordination in the "management team."

Don't be the guy/gal who she has to fire to establish who's boss, especially if you've been running the show in the meantime and super-especially if there are people in the office who think the job should have been yours (whatever the reason, seniority, merit, etc.).
posted by MattD at 2:55 PM on December 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


I was in a very similar position earlier this year. I don't know that I have any very helpful advice but I wanted to tell you that things improved dramatically once the new boss arrived. She was worrying me with multiple rather overbearing emails and a seeming unwillingness to accept any contradictory opinions. However once she arrived it turned out that she just has a terrible sense of tone in emails and I've really enjoyed working with her.

I guess the only advice I have is to try to communicate clearly about the realities of the pressure your team is under but ultimately remember that she's in charge an there's only so much you can do to upwardly manage her. If she makes promises without finding out if she can keep them, it's her problem.
posted by *becca* at 4:54 AM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks everybody, your comments were really helpful. I realize that I was starting to obsess about somehow finding the perfect thing to say that would make everything, well, perfect. These answers made me realize that I can only do my best to make sure she is well informed and prepared as possible, and she has to choose to listen or not.

Luckily, she and I had a chance for a long phone conversation today and I gave her the lay of the land as positively but clearly as I could. She thanked me, said it looked like we had everything under control, and apologized for not checking with me before making some commitments. She also said she would undo them, which really impressed me.

So maybe things will work out after all.
posted by rpfields at 2:28 PM on December 18, 2012


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