Partnering with Your Boss: Strategic Skills for Administrative Professionals

Attend this seminar and master techniques for effective goal setting, prioritizing, planning, decision making, relationship building and listening. Learn how to communicate confidently and assertively—and develop and use power and authority.

You’ll return to work better able to support your organization’s/boss’s goals, adapt to various communication styles to successfully influence and work with your boss and others, establish trust, credibility and authority to strengthen your relationship with your boss.

• Consistently anticipate your boss’s needs
• Gain the respect of your boss and be taken seriously
• Get what you need from others to accomplish your job and achieve your boss’s goals
• Have the authority to make—and act on—decisions
• Confidently represent your boss
• Be seen by your boss and by others as a valuable professional resource
• Develop a trusting relationship with your boss
• Partner with multiple bosses and other office professionals
• Effectively use time and get more things done in a day

Defining the Strategic Partnership

• Identify the characteristics of effective partnering with your boss and use these features to create a positive partnership

Developing a Trusting Relationship with the Boss

• Adapt methods to complement the boss’s preferences by completing a self-evaluation exercise and creating a blueprint for change

Planning Skills to Anticipate and Proactively Support the Boss

• Choose and apply the active listening skills that allow you to anticipate the boss’s needs by completing a communication assessment and enacting a listening skills role play

Extending the Partnership

• Define and integrate your personal power bases by revisiting trust…and by completing a “power-base planner”

Aligning and Expanding  Partnering Relationships

• Use influencing and persuasive communication skills in planning and delivering a business case presentation

Learning Objectives

• Build and Preserve Productive and Trusting Workplace Partnerships with Your Boss and Others
• Apply Planning Skills to Anticipate Needs, Manage Time and Projects, and Gain Recognition, Personal Power, and Authority
• Identify and Practice Personal Behaviors and Modes of Interaction That Form the Basis for Strategic Collaborations with Your Boss and Others
• Apply Decision-Making Skills in Order to Become Proactive in Anticipating the Needs of Your Boss and in Acting for the Benefit of the Organization

Defining Your Strategic Partnership

• Identify the Characteristics of Effective Partnering and Use These Features to Create a Profile for Your Partnering Relationship with Your Boss
• Define Your Role as a Partner By Completing a Partnering Worksheet/Planner

Understanding Your Boss (and Yourself): A Study in Behavioral Styles

• Identify Your Own Behavioral Style Preferences
• Identify Your Boss’ Behavioral Style and Build a Better Working Relationship
• Identify How to Build Trust with Each Type of Behavioral Style and Make a Trust-Building Plan to Incorporate with Your Boss
• Demonstrate the Best Way to Communicate with Bosses, Peers, or Employees Whose Style Preferences Differ from Yours
• Describe the Concept of Different Work Styles and Determine How You and Your Boss Complement One Another

Anticipating Your Boss’ Needs with Good Communication Skills

• Choose and Apply the Active Listening Skills That Will Allow You to Anticipate Your Boss’ Needs By Completing a Communication Assessment and Enacting a Listening Skills Experiment
• Create a List of Best Practices for Active Listening, Feedback, and Questioning Skills
• Begin Gathering Information to Help You Start Anticipating Your Boss’ Needs More Accurately

Becoming an Effective Gatekeeper By Managing Information Flow

• “Manage Up” By Being Conscious of Information Flow
• Clarify What Gatekeeping Means in Terms of Controlling and Supporting Information Flow
• Negotiate to Use Your Skills as a Gatekeeper More Effectively By Getting Either More Information to Manage or More Authority to Handle the Information You Are Already Working With
• Solve Information Flow Problems at Work

Decision Making with and for the Boss

• List the Barriers to Decision Making
• Use Four New Decision-Making Tools
• Establish Decision-Making Ground Rules to Apply When Either You or Your Boss Is the “Partner-in-Absentia”
• Organize Your Office and Communicate with Your Boss So S/He Can Find What S/He Needs When You Are Out of the Office

A Trusted Partner: Establishing Your Ethical Boundaries

• Recognize and Respond to Unethical Behavior
• Define and Prioritize Your Ethical Obligations
• Establish Your Own Ethical Boundaries
• Use Questions to Help Resolve Ethical Dilemmas
• Access Written Documents Outlining Legal and Ethical Behaviors and Use That Information to Determine Your Course of Action When Responding to Unethical Behavior in Others

Aligning and Expanding Your Partnering Relationship

• Synergize and Practice New Feedback-Seeking and Informative Speaking Skills By Planning a Work Review or Project Update Presentation
• Apply Influencing and Persuasive Communication Skills in Planning and Delivering a Business Case Presentation