6 creative ways to argue with your boss effectively
Have you ever had an argument with your boss ? If yes, are you looking for ways to tackle it effectively?
Felicia Jones wanted a raise in her salary, but her boss was not willing to give in. It turned into a terrible argument, when she pushed for it.
Eventually she had no other option, but to leave the company.
At this juncture, the cardinal rule of dealing with your boss was broken by Miss Jones: “Don’t start a fight you can’t win”. This doesn’t mean that you should avoid all conflicts with your superiors.
Temporarily avoiding disagreements may help in the short run, but never in the long term.
I am gonna give you 6 time-tested and proven motivational tips to handle your boss effectively.
1. Its all about timing:- You need to be sensitive enough to understand the mood of your boss. Take a tip or two from his secretary, if you are in good terms with her. ” If he eats screws for breakfast, I don’t think that it is the right time to ask him for something”. If he has become a proud father, be rest assured that this is the time for you to catch the prey. There are several subtle moments like this, for which you have to keep your eyes and ears wide open. Let me tell you this – never ever approach your boss when he’s on a tight schedule/deadline, don’t head towards him just before lunch, don’t go in just before or after he’s taken a vacation. Memorize it, if you feel that you might make this mistake sometime in your life.
2. Check your adrenaline rush:- “If you are angry”, says Robert Smith, a Washington Psychologist who counsels people on how to get promoted, “that will only make your boss angry. Calm down first.” You should take extra care to see that you don’t open the floodgates of frustration for just one concern. Its better to talk once you have settled down. Trust me. This has worked for me so many times.
3. Clarity and Brevity:- You should be a dazzling communicator with commendable brevity. Minor issues sometime becomes a deadly dangerous tumor, if it is not discussed across the table, with clarity. Terrible issues can take place when neither the employer nor the employee knows what’s there in each others mind. More often than not, the fight will go away when the issues are made clear. Simiona Lawrence who works for a financial giant in London, rarely argues with her boss. But on certain occasions when her boss says no to something, “she puts down her concerns on paper and asks him to look at that.” She says its helped more than once as her boss can focus the issue.
Next time give it a shot, with the faith that it would work.
4. Focus on solutions:- Most employees crib over the problems that they face in their day to day lives. Please understand that, “Your boss has enough on his head without you adding more”. If you are not in a position to suggest an immediate solution, at-least say how to approach the problem. Think twice before approaching your boss next time with a problem. Always carry a solution bag along with you. He would love it..!!
5. Wear your boss’s hat:- Dealing effectively with your boss demands you to understand his goals and pressures. Your suggestions should make him think of you as his business partner. Universal law of reciprocity is evidence for this and it has stood the test of times.
6. It’s time to enhance your common-sense:- Remember, the boss holds all the rite cards. If you push an issue far too many, be prepared to face the repercussions. At the end of the day he can always fire you.
Be sensible, use your common sense and please remember the mantra “Don’t start a fight you can’t win.”