Working styles of boss

Prepared by : Wong Yew Yip (November 2012)

12 Working Styles of Bosses

& How to keep them happy

Prepared by : Wong Yew Yip. Based on “How to Manage Your Boss” by Ros Jay

As bosses come in different shapes and sizes, their

working styles are also different. Identify your boss’s

working style so that you can do your best to fit in and

learn how to keep your boss happy


Bureaucratic 1

3

Characteristic

How to keep your Boss happy

This boss sticks to the rules

and likes paperwork

He is not a great risk-taker

Put things in writing and stick

to the rules yourself

Don’t bother putting forward

any proposals involving major

risks


Laid Back 2

4

Characteristic


Results are more important to this

boss than dotting i’s and crossing t’s

So long as things are going well, he

won’t be too concerned with details

Don’t bother this boss with

petty details

Just focus on getting the

results he wants


Consultative 3

5

Characteristic


This type of boss is likely to

involve you in decisions, projects

and information and keep you in

the loop

Don’t be secretive around this

boss

He won’t bothered with every

detail of what you do but he will

want your general approach to

be as open as his


Non-Consultative 4

6

Characteristic


Quite the opposite, this boss never

tells you what’s going on until he

decides that you need to know

While his judgment may often be right

(if frustrating), sometimes you need to

know more than he realizes

Don’t ask for information you don’t

require

If you do need to know something,

explain why, so he realizes your

need to know


Concerned with detail 5

7

Characteristic


Not the same as being bureaucratic,

although it often goes alongside it

This boss will breathe down your

neck most of the time, always

wanting to know the nitty-gritty of

what you’re doing and why

Give this boss plenty of progress

reports and supply all the details he

wants

This will make him feel he can trust

you


Focused on the big picture 6

8

Characteristic


This boss doesn’t want to be

hassled with minor details

He is concerned with objectives and

results and how they are achieved is

your concern, not his

Don’t trouble him with small things -

use your initiative

Express ideas and suggestions in

terms of the objectives and results

that interest this boss


Creative 7

9

Characteristic


Originality and inventiveness are what

grab this boss and he wants ideas and

creative suggestions from you about

everything from how to double sales to

a novel approach to the office party

Learn from him and from other

sources such as books on how to

exercise your creative mind so you

can approach problems and

challenges in the same way the boss

does


Logical 8

10

Characteristic


This boss likes all ideas and

suggestions to be based on logical

reasoning, not on creative leaps of

the imagination

Facts and figures should back up

every argument

Make sure you have data to justify

every proposal or solution you

bring to this boss


Organized 9

11

Characteristic


A tidy desk and a well-kept planner

or diary are the hallmarks of this

boss

He likes plenty of lists and always

knows what the priorities are, both

short and long term

Look organized yourself

This boss won’t believe you can

work effectively if your desk is a

mess and you are always late for

meetings


Unorganized 10

12

Characteristic


This boss may work very effectively but he

doesn’t look it

Papers all over the place, always wondering

where he is supposed to be next and never

quite appearing to be on top of the job

Learn to anticipate what he wants because

he won’t

Give him plenty of warnings and reminders

before deadlines or important meetings but

don’t give the impression you’re nannying

him (unless you know he likes it)


Proactive 11

13

Characteristic


New projects get this boss

excited and he is always

looking to initiate schemes

and ideas

Show enthusiasm for his ideas

and be ready with plenty of

your own, geared towards key

objectives (yours and your

boss’s)


Reactive 12

14

Characteristic


This boss spends more time responding to

issues and ideas than initiating new ones

So he tends to be more thoughtful and less

inclined to take risks (it is not unusual for

him also to be the bureaucratic type)

Don’t try to get him to launch

endless new projects

Instead, concentrate on getting the

job done thoroughly and seeing

things through to completion

Prepared by : Wong Yew Yip (November 2012) 15

Whether your boss’s working style is

included in this list or not, you would

know by now that it is not hard to

keep your boss happy once you have

identified his working style

It is really about how you work in

relation to your boss, not how you

work when you are left alone

After you know what is your boss’s

style, you can maintain a good

relationship with him when you know

the answer the following 3 questions:

What impresses your boss?

What winds your boss up?

How your boss likes you to work?

In conclusion . . .

Working styles of boss

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