While updating the boss on what we are doing is crucial to advancing our careers, May Busch says there are right and wrong ways of going about it.
One assumption that’s easy to make but can damage your career is that your boss knows what you’re doing and how well you’re doing it.
Most bosses aren’t perfect and they’re definitely not mind readers.
They’re busy people with worries of their own.
The best strategy is to take charge of keeping your boss updated on what you’re doing and to do it in a way that serves both of you well.
When done well, keeping your boss updated is one of your career secret weapons.
Here are some reasons why it’s in your interest to make it a regular part of your routine.
Helps you with your workload:
When you keep your boss updated, you provide them with insight into the volume, complexity and impact of your work.
This makes it easier for you to get the resources you need and can keep you from getting dumped on with more work than you can handle.
Makes your boss a better advocate for you:
When your boss is informed and armed with your accomplishments they’ll be able to advocate for you more effectively.
When it’s time to negotiate for more resources, they’ll be in the know about what you need and why you need it.
Helps your boss pave the way for you:
They’ll be in a better position to help you at the more senior levels of the organisation.
It gives them an opportunity to feel part of the effort and, best of all, it’s easier for them to see you in action.
Enhances your visibility with higher level managers:
Your updates are fuel for your boss to use in keeping their bosses updated on all the great things going on across the unit.
Just like you, your boss is interested in looking good with his or her boss too.
However, it’s possible to get it badly wrong.
My client — let’s call her Linda — was proud of the thorough briefings she prepared for her meetings with her new boss.
Her one frustration was that their supposedly hour-long meeting was often cut short to 15 minutes or even cancelled at the last minute.
She switched to an email update.
By reading this one comprehensive document, her boss would know everything that was going on.
When I met her boss, I got a different story.
He dreaded their long update meetings and felt she was wasting his time with all that unnecessary detail.
For him, 15 minutes was a long meeting.
As for the emails, they were just as bad.
He hated to read long, dense emails that you had to scroll down multiple times to get to the end.
Instead, he preferred a few bullet points or an informal ‘fly by’ update.
Fortunately, Linda was able to change the way she updated her boss, but it almost derailed her career.
It will be different for different bosses, and it’s your responsibility to get clear on what will land best with yours.
If they’re a micro-manager, you’re probably better off with more frequent updates and greater detail.
If they’re laissez-faire or have a short attention span, then a few well-placed bullet points will do.
Bosses come in many sizes and flavours and you want to make your update easy for your boss to consume.
If you’re not sure, then ask them or someone else who knows.
Then experiment with formats to see which lands best and is easiest for you to produce.
I like to think of it along the lines of content, framing, frequency and format.
Content – what to update your boss about:
The key here is to make a conscious decision about what to include in your updates.
Figure out what’s important; what you include will give them clues about whether or not you see the bigger strategic picture.
For example, the organisational “housekeeping” may not deserve top billing whereas the insights from a five-minute client call could be big news.
Second, think about the content from your own perspective.
What are the accomplishments or milestones you’re most proud of?
What issues or challenges are on the horizon, how are you handling them, and what help do you need from your boss?
Framing – how to position the things in your update:
Think of it as a story or narrative that you’re communicating to your boss.
What’s the overall impression you want to give, and what’s the language and phrasing that best conveys it?
If you want to come across as competent and capable, then the way you frame issues and challenges needs to be matter-of-fact and include your proposed solution.
Format and Frequency – how and how often to communicate updates:
These are for you and your boss to decide.
I preferred weekly updates but biweekly or monthly could suit your situation better.
Remember, your update represents you with your boss and potentially with more senior management.
They’re a great opportunity for you to be more visible with people who matter in your career.
Given the choice, I would go for shorter updates (as in three bullet points), in writing, sent weekly via email with the same subject line so it’s easily searchable.
This is especially useful if you don’t get to see or speak to your boss frequently.
While you want your updates to be taken seriously, don’t get bogged down with trying to make them perfect.
The point is to get it going, then you can get feedback and adjust.
As the saying goes, done is better than perfect.
* May Busch helps leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
