How to Build a Better Boss

While we here at MRM Career Coaching are all about helping you navigate your way through a job or career change, we recognize that sometimes, you really do love your company and your job - but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement on your team. We’re sharing five ways that you can lead up to improve your boss.

Five Tips to Build a Better Boss

1. Embrace that one of your roles is to make your leader or team wildly successful.
   Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this is kissing up to your boss or team leaders. Think about this more wholistically - if your boss or team is succeeding in certain tasks, goals, or benchmarks, then that creates a positive domino effect for everyone involved. 

2. Build credibility.
   Find out exactly what your leadership team expects of you. Be clear about it & if you’re confused or have concerns, respectfully ask questions. Perhaps, they haven’t considered what the details look like from your perspective. Work together to manage expectations, then meet them with excellence. 

3. Lighten their load.
   We all have weaknesses. This may sound crazy, but find out what your boss doesn’t do well and if you would be stronger at managing that task. Help them get comfortable with delegating that work and get that away from them. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s adding a task to your plate, but maybe it’s best suited for a different department. This will add immense value!

4. Encourage your other team members!
   Don’t get caught up in water cooler gossip or in workplace drama. Instead, focus on being an encouragement to your other team members! Share resources with them, pitch in on tasks or projects, and even shout them out in team meetings. If you don’t currently have a way for public recognition, consider implementing (or asking your boss to implement) a “brag party.” Choose one day per week for each person on the team to shout out someone else for doing a great job. This doesn’t have to be in person - you can even do this via Slack or your internal messaging tool!

5. Set a vision & goals.
   If you don’t have a team vision or goals, set them for yourself in your role! Communicate these with your boss and regularly share how you are meeting these benchmarks and what that means to you, the company, and your vision for the future there. This will typically lead to your boss and other members of your team doing the same thing for themselves.

Whether you’re in a rockstar team looking to make it even better or working to manage up to make things more bearable, these tips can help you and the rest of your team build a better boss, which can lead to new growth and opportunities for each of you.