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Seminars |  |
On-Site | |
Events | |
Books | |
e-Learning | |
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Research | |
Conference Centers |
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ASSESSMENT: |
| 1) | Confronted with a manager who liked to keep a finger in every pie, Rick, who was used to working independently, learned to save one minor problem a week for the manager to mull over. Meanwhile Rick moved ahead with the rest of the project. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 2) | Having suffered stinging reprimands for delivering bad news to her boss, Linda has learned to deliver best case scenarios first, then soften all bad news with at least two suggestions for tackling the problem immediately. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 3) | Shane was frustrated when he failed to get a promotion. To make matters worse, his new boss lacked industry knowledge and slowed projects down. Shane's response was to establish a paper trail that would absolve him when, inevitably, a major customer complained to the company president about missed deadlines. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 4) | In a company that's been tightening its belt for a few years now, competition for resources is tight. A manager regularly inflates her budget proposals, knowing her boss will make cuts. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 5) | A popular, successful manager with a laissez-faire style was replaced by someone who demanded written reports. Most of the supervisors wrote as little as they could get away with, but Mario, who needed a budget variance, drew up a comprehensive background report and a project implementation plan. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 6) |
Supervisors were asked to prepare reports on their units for their new department head, hired from outside the company, All the supervisors produced hefty documents -- except Rita. She delivered one page of talking points after learning from an outside contact that the new manager preferred listening to reading. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 7) | A vice president makes a decision that causes problems for another department. Responding to complaints, a manager who reports to the VP figures out a way to work around the decision while appearing to be in compliance. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 8) | Despite giving only vague directions upfront, Lance, the manager, frequently responded with, "That's not what I meant," after a team put its best efforts into a project. Now, before beginning a new project, the team leader e-mails her preferred project plan and an alternate plan to Lance, asking him to comment on the plan he likes and return it. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 9) | A new manager was resented by her colleagues for getting plum assignments from the department head. Discovering that the new person was submitting written proposals for each upcoming project, Ali, a more experienced manager, decided to play the same game, taking advantage of his contacts to write better proposals. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
| 10) | A new supervisor, hired to boost production, made many mistakes as she tried to implement new processes. Frustrated, employees looked for guidance from a long-term co-worker, who filled the leadership void, gradually returning the work unit to its old way of doing things. |
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Managing |
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Manipulating |
Businesspeople use a lot of different tactics to get the help from their bosses they need. Some of their maneuvers are good management; others are downright manipulative. Sometimes it's hard to know which is which.
Can you differentiate between managing upward and manipulating the boss. Test yourself with this quiz. For each situation, click on the word -- managing or manipulating -- that you think best describes the behavior toward the boss.
Your answer...