What is his preferred management style?

Every boss has their own cadence and rhythm when it comes to getting work done; your job is to figure out what it is, and adapt to it. For example, does your boss like detailed work plans? Does he seek a lot of input before making a decision? Does he like to be hands-on when developing the presentation that goes to his peers and boss? Does he like to work one-on-one with you on a task, or does he pull in members of your team? In short, what’s the predictable pattern from start to finish on projects? How does he manage the day-to-day work that goes on in your department?

In my experience, bosses will have a preferred style for at least three basic work tasks. First, they will follow a set process for generating ideas. Some bosses prefer brainstorming; others want to generate their own list of ideas and have you react. Some bosses don’t engage much in this phase; they merely want to hear the ideas and then approve a final course of action. Do you know how your boss likes to generate and approve ideas, and why? Make a list of your recent ideas and how your boss reacted to each one. This insight will tell you a lot about him—how much does he want to be involved in this first step of the process?

Most likely, he wants to be involved in solving just certain problems, but couldn’t care less about others. This is the proverbial “deep dive” question: how deep into the process will he get, and why? This is one of the most common complaints I hear from clients; they don’t know why their boss “goes deep” on one topic, but not another. Oftentimes, there doesn’t seem to be a set pattern. It’s hard to predict which topic will cause him to get highly engaged. I can assure you it’s not random; there’s a reason that some issues get his full attention and others don’t. Moreoften than not, it has to do with ego or reputation. Your boss’s deep dives are generally motivated by a feeling that his solution is clearly the best option, or by not wanting to appear out of touch with the details of important projects.

The second management process to study is his preference for building a presentation. If an idea, proposal, or recommendation needs to be packaged into a story, he is going to have an established method for overseeing this process. Do you recognize all the phases of this work flow? Can you articulate them step-by-step? My guess is that your boss likes to build the business case in a predictable fashion. Your job is to pay attention to his preferences so you can get through the process as efficiently as possible.

Mary is struggling with this right now. She’s frustrated by her boss’s iterative process for creating a presentation. They go through multiple drafts before arriving at the final version. These iterations change only slightly from one draft to the next, and the boss is heavily involved in reviewing every draft. Mary would like to create a final version without all the review meetings with her boss. When I asked her why the boss preferred to work this way, she answered: “Because he doesn’t trust me to develop the story on my own.” I encouraged Mary to check this impression with her peers, and what she heard back surprised her. Her colleagues told her the boss liked to check in with his peers on all recommended courses of action, and that he used an iterative process to socialize the proposal, thereby ensuring a greater chance of success. It wasn’t that the boss didn’t trust Mary; this was just his preferred process for developing a solid recommendation. If your boss likes to work with you on big presentations and likes to evolve the story over time, think about why he’s doing this. It might not have anything to do with you.

The biggest area in which you’ll encounter your boss’s preferred management style is on the day-to-day execution of projects. After the solution has been generated and socialized, the product or service needs to be implemented. Most bosses have distinct opinions about execution and want to be involved in this process, too. Some like to manage the work closely, with lots of update meetings. Others avoid the details, focusing instead on the overall outcome and customer reaction. How does he like to stay engaged during execution? Again, write out his preferences for different scenarios. Some bosses want to read reports; others want to be briefed periodically. Some want these briefings presented in the staff meeting, while others will schedule regular one-on-one sessions.

Know your boss’s preferred style of staying up to speed, figure out why he’s working from this style, and adapt to it. Don’t spend a lot of energy trying to change his style to fit yours: If he likes data-heavy updates, be prepared. If he wants a lot of context, provide it. If you know he favors certain metrics, highlight them. Above all, be calm and flexible because this is your boss’s style of managing the work, and you’re not going to radically change it.

Finally, a big part of these common management situations involves decision-making.

Do you know his decision-making process? Does he like a lot of data, or does he make decisions with his gut? Does he make decisions quickly, or is it a drawn-out affair? Before making a decision, does he ask a lot of questions? There’s really no excuse for missing the consistent patterns of his decision-making style. The trick here is to study his past decisions to determine what will be required on the current business issue. If it’s a decision that impacts your group only, perhaps you just need a convincing business case. But if the decision has broader organizational impact, be aware that his decision will be influenced by far more than just the supporting evidence. His peer relationships, his current standing with his boss, his recent track record of making the right call—all of this will come into play. Most of his decisions will not be black or white; instead, they will be highly dependent on the current vibe in the organization. Learn the overall context so you can make sense of his final decision.

Over time, your boss has dug a deep groove in his routinefor managing work. The behavior is there to be observed; you just need to look deeper to understand why he does what he does. From idea to execution, how does he want to be involved? How does he want to be updated? How and why does he make decisions? Observe the behavior and consider the situation, and you’ll start to recognize the patterns. Once you can predict the what and why, it’s up to you to make the right adjustments to his style.