1. Managing Your Boss Café
Facilitator notes:
Instructions: Proceed to the next slide once the presentation is visible to the participants.
Insert client logo here

2. Welcome
Think of a productive employee-manager relationship you’ve experienced or observed. What is one characteristic that contributed to its effectiveness?
(please chat in your response)
Facilitator notes:
Say: Good morning/afternoon. This is ________ from ________ . We’ll be starting today’s session at ____. As you come online, please take a moment to answer the question on your screen via the chat panel. We’ll give your colleagues a few more moments to join our session and then we’ll get started. Thank you.
Instructions: Consider answering the question yourself in the chat panel first to show an example. Note: There is no need to debrief the question now—it will be discussed several slides later. However, use this time to make note of the most common and least common responses so you are prepared to debrief later.
CHAT

3. Introductions NAME NAME Title Title Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Instructions: Introduce yourself and any co-facilitator or web conferencing producer who might be helping with the session. Acknowledge the relative size of the audience, and consider having participants chat in their locations if this information is not readily apparent. The point is to give people a sense of who is participating in the session today.
NAME
Title
NAME
Title

4. Participation tips Limit electronic interruptions.
Take part in the discussion.
Listen carefully to what is being said.
The CHAT PANEL is enabled for the session.
Use the RAISE HAND feature to volunteer to speak.
Put your phone on mute when not speaking.
CHAT
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: Today’s session has been designed to be an interactive experience. To get the most from the session, here are a few tips about how to participate.
Instructions: Highlight any web conferencing features to be used, such as the chat panel and raise hand feature. Note that the raise hand feature may not be necessary if the group is relatively small. With a small group, participants could volunteer by simply unmuting themselves and speaking up. If you do choose to use the raise hand feature, explain, “When I invite you to raise your hand during the session, I mean you can click on the raise hand button if you want to share your thoughts with the group.”
Say: It appears we are ready to start.
RAISE HAND

5. Building a strong relationship with your boss
Think of a productive employee-boss relationship you’ve experienced or observed. What is one characteristic that contributed to its effectiveness?
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 5 minutes]
Say: Let’s start by taking a look at the opening question.
Instructions: Debrief the icebreaker question about what characteristics contribute to a productive relationship with one’s boss. Ask a few participants to share their responses.
Briefly summarize participants’ responses. Note any common themes; for example, participants may mention:
I adapt to my boss’s work style.
I understand and deliver on my boss’s expectations.
I’m not afraid to present problems or risks to my boss.
I’m willing to disagree (respectfully).
I ask my boss’s help in developing my career.
If responses are varied, you may want to point out how varied the group’s responses are.
Say: The characteristics you’ve described are all constructive ways of “managing your boss.” For some people, this expression sounds manipulative. But managing your boss is really about developing a productive partnership that helps you and your manager accomplish the goals most important to you both. This session will explore some key practices that will help you strengthen your relationship with your manager in ways that benefit both of you.
RAISE HAND

6. Today’s objectives Help you: Understand your boss
Build a partnership with your boss
Communicate effectively with your boss
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: Today’s session focuses on three important aspects of managing your boss. Specifically, we are going to discuss how to:
Understand your boss
Build a partnership with your boss
Communicate effectively with your boss

7. UNDERSTAND YOUR BOSS MANAGING YOUR BOSS Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: Let’s begin by discussing how to understand your boss. Different people have different ways of working, so in order to understand your boss’s work style, it’s critical to recognize how he or she processes information and makes decisions. It’s equally important to know what your boss expects of you. That way, you can align your way of working with your boss—and so convey that you’re a valuable ally.

8. Accommodate a manager’s work style
Jo is having regrets about having left her old job as senior account manager for a comparable role with a new firm. Her new boss, Katsu, seems to be an extreme micromanager. He wants detailed advance notes about how she plans to run client meetings, then suggests she change most of her plans. Jo is reluctant to raise this issue, especially since Katsu avoids face-to-face meetings, preferring to communicate by . Jo feels her boss doesn’t trust her, and also wishes he would communicate more often in person.
What could Jo do to build a better relationship with her boss?
[Time: 8 minutes]
Say: Let’s consider this short scenario. What are some things that Jo could do to build a better relationship with her boss?
Instructions: Give participants one minute to review the scenario, and then ask them to chat in their ideas about what Jo could do. Highlight the following ideas if participants do not mention them:
Jo could:
Recognize that she needs to adapt to Katsu’s management style in order to establish her credibility.
Ask others about Katsu’s management style. For example:
Does he micromanage everyone all the time, or does he focus close attention mostly on new employees?
Is he open to ad hoc in-person meetings, such as a quick coffee break to discuss a client challenge, or does he meet periodically with his team members to discuss performance?
Accommodate Katsu’s requests for information and express appreciation for his input.
Check in frequently with Katsu, primarily by , which he prefers, since he likes to be highly involved in decision making.
Ask to have a brief meeting to discuss if there is anything she should be doing differently to meet his expectations.
Say: Now take a minute to think about a relationship with a manager you have now or had in the past. What is something you do, or have done, to adapt to your manager’s work style ?
Instructions: Allow a minute for reflection. Then ask volunteers to raise hands if they are willing to share an example of accommodating a manager’s style. Call on two or three volunteers as time permits. Remind participants to protect the identity of the manager involved.

9. Clarify manager’s expectations
Common expectations:
Produce
Collaborate 
Be reliable 
Share information and ideas 
Resolve your team’s difficulties 
Stay current
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 10 minutes]
Say: Knowing your boss also includes understanding what he or she expects from you. The better you understand your boss’s expectations, the better you’ll be able to meet your boss’s needs and, in turn, your own. We all know about most of our manager’s expectations of us. Some of the most common areas of expectations appear on the slide. Are there other types of expectations that your manager expects of you, or you’ve observed that other managers expect? Please raise hands if you’d like to share your thoughts.
Instructions: Call on one or two volunteers to share their experience with expectations that are not on the list. If there are no volunteers, say something like, “OK, it seems we’ve got managers’ key expectations covered.”
Say: In the “Worksheet for Monitoring Your Relationship with Your Boss,” you considered your manager’s general and specific expectations of you. Thinking of your answers, chat in Yes or No to indicate whether you fully understand your manager’s expectations of you.
Instructions: Note and comment on whether responses are mostly yes or mostly no. Then ask for one or two participants who said Yes to raise hands if they’re willing to share what they and/or their manager have done to ensure that expectations are clear.
If any responses are No, ask for one or two participants who said No to raise hands if they are willing to share what areas of expectations they would like more clarity about. Also ask those participants to share ideas about how they could initiate a discussion with their manager about his or her expectations, including what questions they should ask, and where and when they should initiate a discussion about their manager’s expectations.
Say: For example, you might say to your manager, “I would like to know more about how important it is to you that I keep up with industry trends and share relevant information with you. And if this would be valuable to you, what is the best way I can share this information with you?”

10. BUILD A PARTNERSHIP MANAGING YOUR BOSS Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: In addition to understanding your manager’s work style and expectations, it’s also vital to clarify and be aligned with his or her business priorities. In this section, we’ll explore how to strengthen your partnership by aligning your approach with the strategic priorities your manager needs to achieve in order to succeed in his or her role. Your support of these priorities is fundamental to helping both of you accomplish your short-term and long-term goals.

11. Clarify your manager’s priorities
Facilitator notes:
[Time 10 minutes]
Say: In the Practice activity for the lesson ”Build a Partnership,” you identified which actions you currently take or don’t take to clarify your manager’s business priorities. Now chat in one that you do manage well and one that you find a challenge.
For instance you might say, “I do a good job of warning my boss about risks. I find it a challenge to discuss goals that I consider unrealistic.”
Instructions: Give participants a minute or so to chat in their responses. Note any common themes. Choose one or two challenges and use them as the basis for a discussion about how participants could improve their understanding and alignment with their bosses’ business priorities. Highlight the following ideas if participants do not mention them:
Describe to your manager the challenges and opportunities your group is facing. Talk about what you think could be done to surmount those challenges and exploit the opportunities.
Talk with your boss about what he or she sees happening with the organization’s strategy.
Discuss together how you and your team can help support the company’s strategic direction.
Reach agreement with your boss on the goals you’re expected to achieve—what will happen, by when. Update these expectations periodically.
Warn your boss of potential risks and play out various scenarios of how you might handle them.

12. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
MANAGING YOUR BOSS
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
Facilitator notes
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: In the last section, we focused on the importance of clarifying business priorities in the process of building a partnership with your manager. But understanding and reaching agreement on priorities requires skillful communication on your part. In fact, communicating effectively is essential to every aspect of your relationship with your boss.

13. Improve communication
A conversation between Marie, who supervises a call center, and her manager, Carol.
Carol (sounding stern): Marie, you need to do a better job of making sure your team gets along with one another.
Marie (defensively): I think my team gets along fine, except for Mark and Jamal, who had one argument.
Carol (sounding annoyed): That’s not what I heard. But whatever is going on, please take care of the situation.
Marie: OK.
What could Marie have said or done to communicate more effectively with Carol?
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 6 minutes]
Say: Let’s consider this brief scenario. Then we’ll discuss how Marie could have communicated more effectively
Instructions: Give participants one minute to review the scenario. Then ask participants to raise their hands if they are willing to share their ideas about how Marie could have responded differently to her manager. Highlight the following ideas if participants do not mention them:
Marie could have:
Listened actively to what Carol said initially, responding to her tone by saying, for example, “Carol, it sounds like you are very concerned about this.”
Confirmed her understanding of the situation by paraphrasing what Carol said; for example, “I hear that you expect me to manage conflicts in my team more effectively.”
Withheld judgment about what Carol was saying instead of being defensive.
Asked a question to get more information about Carol’s perceptions; for example, “What have you heard about what’s going on?”
Clarified Carol’s expectations; for example, by asking, “Are there any specific outcomes you’d like to see?”
Asked for suggestions about how to address the situation; for example, by asking, “Do you have any thoughts about how I should deal with this conflict?”
Instructions: Ask participants to chat in their responses to the question: “In what ways would better listening and questioning skills improve Marie and Carol’s relationship?”
Note and reinforce a few of the most common responses.

14. What makes a disagreement with a boss destructive?
Disagree respectfully
What makes a disagreement with a boss destructive?
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 7 minutes]
Say: Let’s look at another key part of communicating effectively with your boss—disagreeing respectfully. Raise hands if you can share an example of a situation you experienced or observed in which a disagreement with a boss turned out badly. What was it that made the disagreement destructive?
Instructions: Call on one or two volunteers to share their examples. Then ask for their thoughts of those of other volunteers about what the employee could have done to disagree in a more productive way? Highlight the following ideas if participants do not mention them:
Tie your ideas into your organization’s and manager’s goals.
Reflect your boss’s concerns.
Provide your manager with actionable suggestions rather than simply raising objections.
Explain how your ideas could help avoid potential pitfalls or overcome risks.

15. Strengthen your relationship
Understand and manage your attitudes toward authority
Clarify business priorities for you and your team
Discuss your professional development
Communicate effectively
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 5 minutes]
Say: As you’ve seen in the Harvard ManageMentor topic, there are many things you can do to strengthen your relationship with your manager, a number of which we’ve discussed today. The slide summarizes some major opportunities for building a productive partnership with your boss.
Take a few minutes to reflect on your current relationship with your manager. Then make some notes about areas you want to focus on that could enhance your partnership, along with specific actions that you could take.
Instructions: Allow a few minutes for reflection and note-taking. Explain that these are simply private reflections and there is no need to share thoughts.

16. APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
MANAGING YOUR BOSS
APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1/2 minute]
Say: We’re coming to the end of our session today.

17. Today’s objectives Help you: Understand your boss
Build a partnership with your boss
Communicate effectively with your boss
Facilitator notes:
[Time: 1 minute]
Say: Today’s session focused on three important elements of managing your boss. Specifically, we discussed how to:
Understand your boss
Build a partnership with your boss
Communicate effectively with your boss

18. Apply what you’ve learned
Your next step is to complete the On-the-Job section of the Harvard ManageMentor Managing Your Boss topic.
Facilitator notes:
[Time 1 minute]
Say: The On-the-Job section within the Harvard ManageMentor Managing Your Boss topic provides an opportunity for you to pick a skill to work on and come up with specific ways to apply and develop the skill in your workplace. For instance, you can pick the skill: “Build a stronger partnership with my boss.” Then you’ll identify specific action items that you can do to apply and develop this skill. For example, you could develop an action item of: “I will regularly ask my manager what I can do to better support his or her goals.”
Say: In order to complete this learning experience, proceed to the On-the-Job section within the Harvard ManageMentor topic. Remember, the only way to develop a skill is to apply and experiment with the use of that skill in your workplace.

19. Thank you Facilitator notes: [Time: 1/2 minute]
Instructions: Thank participants for their time and active participation.