Ways and Means for Managing Up: 50 Strategies for Helping You and Your Boss Succeed

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Don’t Speak for the Boss Unless He Asks or Knows

Everyone has an ego—small, medium, or large. It’s the large ones that tend to get in the way of good sense. They exceed their boundaries, and when they do that, they don’t play well to the masses. This can become particularly problematic when a “full of himself” subordinate develops an air of importance that goes over the top.

That can happen in the workplace if the boss fails to place limits on those who have decision-making responsibilities on his or her behalf. It can also happen if the junior in rank simply chooses to ignore what he or she is told or is expected to do. Who loses? The boss ...