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Your Boss Hates You (What do you do?)

If you find yourself not getting along with your tech exec boss, it can be a challenging situation. Sometimes, the connection simply isn’t there. It could be due to differing operating styles or a misstep that has upset your manager.

Navigating this challenging situation can be highly stressful when it comes to showing up for work each day. Unfortunately, addressing the barrier that has emerged between you and your boss is necessary. Remember, your boss holds the power to potentially impact your career, especially within the current company. If you aspire to reach an executive position within this organization, it’s crucial to resolve the situation. Consider establishing a regular connection to meet weekly, allowing you to better understand and address the underlying issues. Although it may be painful, open and consistent communication is key to finding a resolution.

Although it may be challenging, it is important to have a conversation with your boss to understand their concerns. Start by compiling a list of potential actions to address the issues and share your plan for resolving them with your manager. It is crucial to ensure alignment on the steps needed to improve the working relationship.

If the situation is dire, it may be necessary to contemplate leaving the company. This, especially if you have invested time and effort in building distinguished reputation and feel at ease within the company’s culture. Transitioning to a new organization can prove arduous as it entails starting afresh with a different leadership team, requiring you to once again demonstrate your capabilities.

Click here for a post on how to do a job search as a tech executive.

Understanding Corporate Culture

As a tech exec, effectively selling your services to clients requires a deep understanding and alignment of their culture. By doing so, you significantly enhance your ability to close deals and successfully deliver your services. This strategic approach enables you to not only meet client expectations but also create a positive and lasting impact.

Understanding the culture of an organization requires effort, as it is intricately tied to its leadership. By familiarizing oneself with the values and priorities of the leaders, one can begin unraveling the complex tapestry that defines a company’s culture.

Culture encompasses the values and beliefs that shape an organization’s operations and decision-making. It is influenced by leaders and influencers at all levels and reflected in the behaviors of individuals within the organization. Over time, leadership actions can solidify culture, creating an enduring legacy environment.

When guiding clients in cultural change, there’s a golden opportunity to shape their path. Active involvement is crucial in assimilating new beliefs and behaviors aligned with the vision. In larger matrix organizations, isolated teams can result in a culture misaligned with the strategic direction.

Effective cultural change fuels bottom line results and cultivates a fulfilling work environment. As a trusted advisor, you’ll play a vital role in this transformative atmosphere. Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts where we delve into strategies for achieving success.

Leading vs. Managing

Leadership and management are interchangeable, yet they require very different skills.

As a tech exec and mentor, we sometimes groom people for management roles without developing their key leadership skills. New managers struggle to be effective leaders, resorting to micro-plans, metrics, and negative pressure, resulting in low morale and a lack of respect.

Certain organizations aggressively promote individuals into management roles without adequately supporting their development as effective people leaders. In the long run, this approach can hinder the career growth of these managers. Additionally, it can create a detrimental impact on the leadership hierarchy of an organization, fostering a culture that prioritizes metrics over the well-being and needs of their workforce.

Consider this: Can we acquire leadership skills prior to assuming managerial roles? Or is leadership primarily an art form rather than a science? The qualities that define successful leaders are truly remarkable.

Successful leaders demonstrate the following:

They listen and have empathy.
They communicate openly and honestly.
They EMPOWER.

It’s important to remember: Exceptional leaders also aspire to become exceptional managers. Leadership alone might garner adoration from the team, but without management elements, progress may be hindered.

You can consciously acquire leadership traits and apply them to your situation. Reflect on your management style. Do you dictate and set unrealistic timelines? Do you expect automatic respect? Instead, foster respect and trust by mentoring, not losing your cool when deadlines are missed. To effectively apply leadership traits, break bad practices and negotiate with your manager for a rewarding team environment.

Cultivate maturity, maintain humility, and practice empathy. As a result, you can assemble an exceptional team that will support and contribute to your journey of becoming a successful leader.

See more on Leading vs. Managing at this post.

Getting Noticed (How to Make Connections to Excel as a Tech Exec)

My son is a high school baseball player with pro aspirations. In a sport where competition is fierce and opportunities limited, how do you gain an advantage and get noticed? Similarly, in the tech industry, rising to the top as a tech exec requires exceptional talent. It’s clear that you earned your position by outshining other candidates with your unique strengths. So, it’s evident that you possess remarkable talent.

Networking is a crucial step towards your success. As emphasized in previous blog posts, a mentor plays a pivotal role in your journey. Expanding your network with multiple mentors, or individuals willing to advocate for your skills, greatly increases your chances of standing out for higher-level opportunities.

If your company has a people directory, explore the leadership. Note their educational background; alumni from the same school can be a point of connection. Look for their roles and skills. Identify commonalities to build rapport. Remember, the goal is not to ask for a job, but to establish valuable connections. Once familiar with their background, reach out via email to introduce yourself and express your interest in meeting. Share something you learned during your research, such as “I heard you have a strong focus in this area, which aligns with my interests. I would love to learn more about your work.“

You can also connect on LinkedIn. Look for people in your company and send a personalized invite. Get to know their background – LinkedIn usually has more information than the internal site. LinkedIn offers the opportunity to explore professionals in positions you aspire to. Building a network of executives is valuable for career prospects. Longer connections are advantageous, so mention your connection duration when reaching out. Request a conversation about their role and opportunities. Don’t get discouraged if there’s no immediate response – LinkedIn outreach is common. Sincere connections matter.

In baseball, talented players are abundant. While stats may differentiate them, they often appear similar. So, how can you catch a coach’s or scout’s attention? It’s through the connections you make and leverage. As an up-and-coming player, simply seeking attention won’t suffice. You need multiple advocates. Your network is invaluable, no matter who you are.

Click here for a post on how to market yourself effectively.

As a Tech Exec, don’t be Stuck in Your Ways

Many companies have a culture that keeps them stuck in their old ways of doing things. A lot of organizations do not realize that past successes could be a major issue standing in the way of change. As a tech exec it’s important to have this perspective.

Success does not always lead to more success but can cause reluctance to change. With more success, organizations can become intrenched and blind to indicators that a shift from the “same old” to a new way of operating is becoming necessary. There are so many examples in industry – Kodak is one – of organizations who did not pivot in time when change was necessary.

Tech Exec - Tech Executives need to beware of lack of innovation

You don’t want to be stuck in a company that is killing itself by not recognizing that the business environment around it is changing.

Your success as an employee can be to help your leadership recognize and adapt to change.

Yes, it’s difficult to make your voice heard in large companies. However, when you do, it’s a big deal and nice recognition. We’ll explore ways to do this in future posts.

Click here for a post on avoiding unconscious bias as a tech executive.