Bringing your boss up to speed

So, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that you’re doing great at work. You’ve learned a lot, you’re contributing a lot, and you’ve actually brought things to a new level in your role.

The bad news? Your boss hasn’t noticed. In fact, your boss doesn’t seem to know what you do all day, although s/he isn’t shy about sending more work your way. Which is fine, of course, except that this process usually highlights the fact that the two of you are out of step. It seems like the new work always comes when you’re on a tight deadline or else it’s focused on some aspect of your job that you’re barely responsible for anymore.

You could probably manage these awkward assignments if it weren’t for the bigger issue of not being acknowledged for the work you’re already doing. If your boss presides over one more meeting where your growing expertise is overlooked, you’re feeling like you might need to rent billboards to make your point.

Well? Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. If this situation sounds familiar, it’s time to ask yourself: Whose responsibility is it to ensure the boss knows what the workers are doing?

That may depend on which management philosophy you follow, but from a career strategy viewpoint, there’s only one viable answer: If the worker wants the boss to know something, it’s up to the worker to get that message across.

Never mind modesty or the assumption that your value will be noticed eventually; the truth is, good work is not always seen or rewarded without someone pointing it out.

There are several reasons for this and most are innocent. For one thing, good work is often invisible – if it’s done well it may look effortless. For another, many managers are overwhelmed, or they’re giving their attention to poor performers, with little left over for those who are excelling.

It’s also possible that your boss isn’t working from an updated understanding of your capabilities. This is especially common when an employee has held the same role for a number of years, having come on board to do a job that has changed bit by bit until it’s actually quite different from the original position.

Whatever the reason, if your boss doesn’t seem to know what you do, you probably need to rectify the situation. And not just for promotions or raises, although being properly compensated is important.

But there’s more than income at stake. When you’re not on the same page with your boss, you’re vulnerable to being laid off if your supposed duties are deemed unnecessary. Less dramatically, you’re prone to being disregarded when your boss sets strategy for the department. This can result in missed opportunities for everyone.

That has been happening to Sandy, who was hired by a small service firm to manage and grow sales. When she started, the systems were so rudimentary, she needed to pour her attention into streamlining basic processes for handling calls and filling service orders.

Now, two years later, Sandy has moved on to bigger picture strategies for attracting the most profitable customers. In essence, she has changed her job focus from transactional to transformational. And, while her boss likes the numbers she’s posting, he hasn’t made the leap to seeing her as a strategist, as evidenced by the lowlevel, off-target assignments he keeps giving her. Sandy’s now in the uncomfortable position of needing to educate her boss about the true nature of her job.

There are several ways to accomplish this task, so if you’re in a similar situation, try one or more of these methods to bring your boss up to speed on what you’re really doing.

— Schedule regular meetings or written reports to provide a synopsis of the achievements and activities for the last week or month.

— Be diligent in taking credit for your work during staff meetings and even casual conversations.

— Send your boss a quarterly project summary, with deeper detail on a few key initiatives.

— Provide your boss with your updated resume – “In case you need this as you plan our projects” or “To give you a good record of the classes I’ve been taking.”

What if you try some of these options and your boss still doesn’t acknowledge the level of your work? This is one of the times when you probably can’t fight city hall. Your boss has the authority, so you’ll have to decide if you can tolerate the situation as it is. If the answer is no – and it probably should be – it’s time to do the job you’ve grown into for a company that hires and appreciates you in that role. Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firmin St. Paul. She can be reached at a lindgren @ prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Avenue, St. Paul, MN55102.