“Aligning with Boss and Understanding Team”-Why?

In my early stages of career, I used to believe a team member’s talent, passion & contributions are adequate for career development. However, as I moved forward in career, I begin to realize the importance of another important element i.e. “Support from Boss” one needs to accelerate career growth and determines the success or failure. Therefore “Aligning with Boss” plays pivotal role to achieve career goals.

“Boss” is possibly one of the simplest word in corporate dictionary but aligning is often an arduous task. To many people, aligning may sound unusual or suspicious because of traditional top-down approach in organizations. And why does why align upward unless of course, motivated by personal or political reasons, Read on.

In view of the competitive market conditions, business imperatives, layoffs and evolving leadership styles, teams begin to realize the importance of aligning. They are consciously working with the boss to obtain the best possible results for self growth as Boss-Team member relationship is one of the mutual dependence and bosses do have their limitations and they in turn are accountable for realizing organization’s goals hence they depend on the team’s contributions.

Understanding boss’s preferred style of functioning, strengths, blind spots and pressures he/she undergoes from superiors is important and learned trait. This insight is very critical to develop and manage a healthy working relationship with Boss and to avoid unnecessary conflicts, communication gaps and misunderstandings.
Boss can play the vital role of connecting the team member to the rest of the leadership team, collaborating with other cross-functional teams for relationship-building, enhances the visibility, expands roles and secure the required resources for excellence in career.

I have noticed largely two types of bosses 1. Bosses, who are more formal or structured and expects the team to function with the well-defined goals, reviews them in formal meetings with data/metrics, offers feedback for improvement and rewards them 2. The second category of bosses of more “results oriented” , trusts the capability of team, empowers them with decision making and fosters culture of inclusiveness & stands behind the team in moments of crises. However, no boss style is absolute and more relative as it depends on the , team’s composition, context and culture of the organization.

Bosses need to realize, team prefers to work with those bosses who are benevolent & trust-worthy, takes genuine interest in their growth by offering constructive feedback and opportunities to grow, whose voice is heard and reward for their contributions.
Having said, in spite of the best efforts if the team realizes alignment becomes challenging due to cultural mismatch, lacks trust in bosses capability, perennial biases and functioning becomes taxing, then it is better to move on. One never know, after a bumpy road one may find hill station.