Clever Geek Handbook
17 December 2025

The Manager's Guide to Social Media

Recommendation

As a manager, are you expert in the use of Google Reader, Radian6, Hootsuite, Yotify, Netvibes and Scribd? How about cloud computing? Microblogging? Crowdsourcing? Managing virtual teams? Welcome to the brave new online world. Managing employees today requires understanding the virtualization of the workplace, Web 2.0 and social technology tools. Thousands of applications exist, and new ones show up daily. How can you stay on top of this high-tech deluge? Social technology expert Scott Klososky details the answer and takes the mystery out of social technologies. BooksInShort finds that his book is a valuable resource for any manager who wants to stay current with social technology.

Take-Aways

  • Online “social tools” and technologies are becoming ubiquitous.
  • Your employees can use social media to waste time or to be more productive.
  • Managing employees became more challenging when social technologies were introduced into the workplace.
  • Companies may block social tools on office computers and servers, but employees will still use their mobile devices to participate on social applications.
  • Some companies permit office computer access to social tools but monitor their use.
  • Social tools can benefit companies by improving employees’ internal and external communication for optimum collaboration.
  • Firms that provide access to social tools must establish rules for their use.
  • Managers should be role models of the proper deployment of social tools.
  • Ensure that employees know how to use such tools, and train those who do not.
  • Social tools enable virtual teams, but leading such teams requires new managerial skills.

Summary

Let’s Get Social

“In April 2010, Citibank surveyed more than 550 small-business owners in the United States about social tech use in their organizations, and found that more than 81% said they don’t use social tech.” Why would this be? Employees can use social media tools to advance the company’s interests, increase its business networking, extend its markets and work more productively. However, keeping workers focused on their work has become more challenging with the advent of social media (Web 2.0 tools and applications), since employees also can use these tools during work to communicate with family and friends, make new connections, and engage in additional nonwork activities.

“We can't stop the tide of socially augmented workplaces.”

Social media tools are an aspect of “social technologies,” a “collection of new forms of communication and community.” The terms you need to know include:

  • “Social relevancy” – Web links and user commentary concerning people and firms’ online reputations, also known as their “digital shadows online.”
  • “Social media” – Online applications, tools and websites that facilitate idea sharing and promotion. Examples include Flickr, SlideShare and YouTube.
  • “Social networking” – Online links and websites that enable people to communicate and connect with each other. Examples: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace.
“Navigating our new socially infused world isn’t a simple thing for managers.”

The various types of social media technologies include:

  • “Communication tools” – Communicate online: WordPress, Twitter, Blogger.
  • “eCommunity tools” – Congregate over the Internet: Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn.
  • “Social media management tools” – Manage online social media campaigns: Viralheat, Hootsuite, SM2.
  • “Aggregation tools” – Combine specific categories of online information: Google Reader, TweetDeck, Netvibes.
  • “Listening tools” – Track online references about your firm by using sites such as GoogleAlerts, Yotify or Addictomatic.
  • “Research tools” – Find the information you need: Yahoo, Jigsaw, Answers.
  • “Measurement tools” – Determine your online influence: Twittalyzer, Socialmention.
  • “Crowdsourcing tools” – Put your employees to work online for you. Some 75 websites offer this service.
  • “Social media sites” – Hundreds exist, including SlideShare, YouTube and Flickr.
“There will be an adoption curve over the next 10 years and, until we get through that and standardize their use, social tools will require a lot of oversight and guidance.”

Social technologies are now ubiquitous. Managers should learn which social tools their employees use and how they access them. Some firms block social tools on their computer systems. Others permit employees to access social technologies but monitor their usage. Your human resources department can set up monitoring and provide you, as a manager, with reports regarding which websites employees access and how often. With that data, you can deal with any problem employees on an individual basis.

“Technology has proven to be a catalyst for either positive or negative impacts on organizational culture, depending on how its proliferation is handled.”

Companies often benefit when they permit the reasonable use of social technologies. Social technologies offer powerful communication tools for reaching internal and external audiences. Savvy managers understand that social technologies can enhance productivity and provide benefits to their organizations. Typical office uses of social technologies include:

  • “Marketing” – Twitter allows companies to communicate with their customers. Facebook enables firms to supply useful information about themselves. YouTube lets organizations showcase videos.
  • “Sales” – Social technologies provide maximum word-of-mouth capability.
  • “Virtual teams” – Work colleagues can now quickly and easily collaborate, no matter where they are.
  • “Internal communications” – Social technologies provide numerous paths for employee communication.
  • “Personal networking” – Social tools’ primary purpose is providing online connections and networks.
  • “Information gathering” – Secure your valuable data in real time. For example, HR departments routinely scour the Internet to find job applicants.
  • “Crowdsourcing” – Many companies use online service providers.
“Never engage in flame wars with competitors or angry constituents.”

Employees’ attitudes about social technologies often depend on their age group. The youngest workers, Gen Y (Millennials), grew up with the Internet. Generation X also feels at home on the Web. Baby boomers can be reluctant to adopt social technologies if there is no immediate payoff. Social technologies can confound “Traditionals,” people 65 or older. “Because social tools started off as something that people used personally, there are many who feel it's an invasion of privacy to have an organization snooping in their online properties.” A manager must ensure that employees from all age groups can work together via social technologies.

Your Employees Will Follow Your Lead

Become familiar with social technologies to become a role model in your office. Pick one social tech tool and teach yourself how to use it. Learn all its features. Once you know how, connect with your contacts. Create online profiles for yourself and your company. Include a head-and-shoulders, businesslike photo of yourself with your profiles. Communicate online with your employees. Don’t use Facebook to connect with employees if you normally use it only for personal contacts; LinkedIn may be a better business choice. Alert employees to your business-relevant blog posts and Twitter feeds. Check Yammer, a “private microblogging platform” for designated groups, such as the employees of a particular organization. To save on long-distance communications, consider using Skype.

“To ignore social tech as a powerful tool is to be ignorant.”

Social tools provide enhanced methods of communication. However, traditional methods, including face-to-face meetings, often work best. Use in-person meetings for motivating staff members, discussing work problems, and so on.

Establish clear goals regarding the use of social technologies in the office. Typical objectives might include:

  • “Quantity of connections” – Each connection provides an online contact for a website such as LinkedIn or for someone who views a professional blog created by your employees.
  • “Quantity and quality of content provided” – Showcase your employees’ professional expertise through quality online content.
  • “Number of positive mentions on the Web” – Track how often others praise your workers online.
  • “Expertise within social applications” – Hold employees responsible for learning social tech tools, like YouTube, Scribd and LinkedIn.
“Be ready to interact with people who comment or reply to you.”

Train employees who need assistance. Numerous online resources are available to help.

Standards of Usage

Corporate use of email and social technology tools is widespread, but few companies detail their email, Web surfing and use of social tools policies to new workers. You must explain your standards regarding social technologies to new hires. Make sure that your veteran employees connect with newcomers when they start on the job. However, be aware that “using social tools with your people does not mean managing them through these tools.”

“Social tech has not created a new human dynamic; it simply has enhanced our ability to communicate with others – anywhere, anytime, in multiple ways and usually for free.”

Let employees know what you expect regarding their online profiles. Discuss the social media conversational styles you want staff members to use with clients. Explain what employees can reveal about the company and what they cannot. Make it clear whether and how they can combine professional contacts with personal ones. Provide guidelines on how to create the best online content. Advise people about how to react to negative online commentary. Suggest that they write or speak in a natural way, provide useful online information, and respond to comments and queries. Create a list of permissible social technologies workers can use. Ensure that all employees understand the security ramifications of their online activities.

“Rivers of Information”

Thanks to the Internet, great rivers of information – “blogs, eNewsletters, twitter streams, RSS feeds, Facebook posts, discussion streams and Web alerts” – are now available. Because so much new information is floating about, you must learn to filter and aggregate the data that most interests you. Find the best, most appropriate sources of information, such as Blogged.com and Twellow.com. Aggregate and store this information. Google Reader is a popular aggregation tool; to archive information, use Evernote or a similar application. Put this information to optimal use with an efficient review process. Allow 30 to 45 minutes daily for this review. Assist your workers as they create and manage their own rivers of information.

Virtual Teams

Technology is shrinking the world. You can send an email message to the next cubicle and to another continent. Videoconferencing enables people across the globe to meet as if they were in the same room. New collaboration tools allow employees to work together on project teams, no matter where they live. Basecamp.com is a worthwhile tool for this purpose. Virtual teams become more popular daily. You must familiarize yourself with the Web’s various communication and collaboration tools, and you must efficiently manage your virtual workers. Employees react to virtual tools in different ways. Help those who are not initially comfortable. “People are getting burned out on the pace of change in...technology...and are getting jaded about continuously implementing new tools.”

Measurements

Set goals regarding the use of social media, and measure the results. Dashboards can help. Download useful dashboards at Quadbase.com, idashboards.com and Cognosdashboards.com. Measure how quickly and how well your staff members and teams use social technology tools. You can also measure the results you achieve when you run a “social campaign.” People will try to achieve results that the company measures, so “if managers don’t have a process to measure social tech usage and progress, they aren’t really managing.”

Pilot Projects

To stay current, you must adapt new social technology tools to your operation. Pilot projects offer excellent opportunities to try something new. Such tests require superior organization, a thorough documentation of goals, an excellent plan regarding ways to use new tools and a list of lessons you want to learn from the testing process. Plan to have “at least three different dynamics” for each pilot project, that is, separate findings you hope to pursue.

Just Getting Started

Social tools increase efficiency. They enable team members to communicate more effectively and to secure the information they need. Employees can tap into the collective wisdom and expertise of specialists in your organization and across the globe. Social technologies have already transformed the world of work, but the current selection offers only the early iterations of these Internet tools. “It’s no exaggeration to say that there is literally a new social tech tool coming onto the Internet daily.” New and better tools will continue to become available. You must become expert at putting these tools to work and staying on top of new entries, both to aid your organization and to enhance your career.

About the Author

Scott Klososky consults with organizations on using social technologies.

Read summary...
The Manager's Guide to Social Media

Book The Manager's Guide to Social Media

McGraw-Hill,
 


17 December 2025

Conversations That Win the Complex Sale

Recommendation

With widespread competition and the commoditization of products and services, salespeople have difficulty differentiating their offerings from their competitors’ goods or services. Many sales reps resort to severe price cuts, the ultimate self-defeating differentiator. Sales message consultants Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer propose a different tactic. Their book presents the core concepts from their popular “Power Messaging workshops,” which teach salespeople how to engage prospects in compelling, profitable sales conversations. This eye-opening program has helped salespeople improve their results for 20 years. BooksInShort recommends this book to salespeople who want to stand out from the competition and win their prospects’ attention and agreement.

Take-Aways

  • Competition and commoditization make it tough to sway prospects to favor your product.
  • Often, prospects simply do not hear a presentation the way you think they will.
  • For many salespeople, the biggest roadblock is the status quo, not the competition.
  • Use conversation to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
  • These friendly, compelling conversations should deliver powerful sales messages.
  • Be bold: Startle your prospects, and shake them up.
  • Your prospect – not your company – is the hero and the focus of your story.
  • Assume the role of the helpful mentor, providing the solution that enables your hero-prospect to win the day.
  • Challenging your prospects and their assumptions on a regular basis is an effective sales technique.
  • Make your prospects feel pain, and present your product or service as pain relief.

Summary

Do You Have Gas in Your Tank?

In 1986, Alain Prost, a French Formula 1 champion, held the lead for most of the German Grand Prix, but he ran out of gas in the last lap. Prost jumped out of his car and tried to push it across the finish line. He received a thunderous ovation from the crowd as other cars zoomed past him.

“Your sales conversations are becoming the last battleground in competitive differentiation.”

Many sales professionals are in the same situation – stuck with sales systems like Prost’s car: powerful but not able to get them across the finish line. But salespeople who offer the correct messages during their sales conversations can beat their competition. Sales systems give salespeople the opportunity to win, but they only work when the right sales messages provide the fuel that powers them. You can have a great system, but without the right message, you will never cross the finish line.

“Humans live in story.”

When sales start to dry up, most sales professionals try to replace their systems. Often, in fact, their messages are at fault instead. Research shows that companies believe the three main problems that deter sales are bad economic times, commoditization and an inability to differentiate their products from their competitors’. Sales conversations are the best way to distinguish your goods and services. Most customers believe that salespeople call on them only to make a pitch and then deliver worthless information. Few executives think that the material salespeople deliver justifies the time spent listening to them. Successful sales do not depend on your step-by-step process. What matters most is what you say.

The Status Quo: The Biggest Sales Roadblock

Your primary battle is not against your competitors; it’s against customer indecision. In a market that is flooded with undifferentiated competitors, often the most logical move is to stand still. Many confused customers get stuck making the non-choice choice to be stuck doing nothing.

“If your prospects see you and your competition as the same, you end up having to compete on the only thing that’s left to differentiate you – price.”

Most salespeople fail to perceive this problem. Instead, they focus on contests against their competitors. In this battle, rivals often stress the same benefits and features, and converse with customers the same way. Prospects freeze, either unable or unwilling to make choices when they discern no advantages among their alternatives. Your primary sales effort should focus on moving the prospect away from the status quo. The most useful tactic in that case is to engage prospects in conversations that provide new insights about ways they can operate more efficiently.

“Messaging fuels methodology.”

The first step is to offer a “distinct point of view” that gets prospects to sit up, take notice and hear what you want to communicate. Once they accept your point of view, they’ll begin to question their previous basic assumptions. This method enables your potential client to visualize upcoming challenges in light of the solutions you provide. Your distinct point of view should cover five components:

  1. “Grabber” – To initiate a dialogue, discuss an industry fact that the prospect does not know.
  2. “Pain” – Bring up a potential problem that could move prospects out of their comfort zone. Explain how this problem may prevent their companies from attaining their business goals. Make sure the problem you introduce will ultimately enable you to become part of the decision-making process that leads to a solution.
  3. “Impact” – Detail the negative consequences that will ensue because of the problem. Quantify everything. Explain that the problem is imminent.
  4. “Contrast” – Introduce a solution that involves your product or service. Focus on your firm’s special ability to solve the problem. Contrast this solution with the way the prospect currently handles things. The core message: The prospect should quickly make a change that involves buying something from your company.
  5. “Proof” – Provide a brief case history that illustrates how your company helped another company deal successfully with a similar problem.
“The Old Brain...loves contrast. And the closer together the things being contrasted in your messaging are, the more powerful the impact will be.”

With this approach, you step entirely outside frustrating fisticuffs with your competitors, you differentiate yourself and your products, and you guide the prospect into the buying cycle. If you deploy this technique correctly, you can redirect the sales conversation to favor your firm and its offerings. Does this methodology work? It did for ADP, a payroll service and human resources management company with a previously stagnant customer relationship management (CRM) system. By establishing a distinct point of view and focusing on clients’ needs instead of its products’ features, ADP changed the sales conversation within 90 days. In the process, it closed 145 deals, some 115 of which previously were in limbo.

“Your prospects assume that you are the same as your competitors – until you prove otherwise.”

Making prospects feel pain goes against every sales instinct. But your job is to move potential clients away from the status quo. Shaking prospects up, moving them away from their rigid suppositions – including their automatic assumptions about you as a salesperson – is the most effective technique. Pique your prospects’ curiosity. Challenge their ideas with thought-provoking conversations. Mention a problem that your prospects will soon encounter. Spur conversation as much as possible by attacking the status quo and redefining the battle to your advantage. Suggest an alternative involving your product or service.

Tell a Story

Storytelling is the best way to convey your distinct point of view. Don’t make the common mistake of creating stories about your company and its products or services. Always craft your story to be about your prospect. He or she must be the central character – the hero – of the story. To find the best story, determine what your prospect and you have in common, while avoiding anything that your prospect or you have in common with your competitors. The commonality between you and your prospect is your “value wedge,” which must meet three requirements:

  1. It should be something special that only your firm provides.
  2. The customer must consider it important.
  3. You must be able to defend your unique proposition.
“You’d better be able to tell me something I don’t already know, about a problem I didn’t even know I had.” (Senior executive at a large technology company)

The combination of these traits represents the parameters of your “power positions,” which define your distinct point of view. To put these concepts to work, develop a “prospect profile” that focuses on three of your prospect’s main business objectives. Target the objectives that carry the most emotional weight for your prospect. For each objective, find a problem, challenge or threat that keeps your prospect’s company from reaching its objectives.

“A safe, familiar message is a forgotten message.”

Consider how your commercial offerings differ from your competitions’. Brainstorm as many ideas as possible. List your main competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. Use this information to help develop your value wedge. Note the competition’s strengths because you may be able to persuade your prospects that they are, in fact, weaknesses. Consider the 2004 US presidential election, when opponents turned Senator John Kerry’s Vietnam War heroism into a weakness, even though he won the Silver Star and several other medals.

“If you separate emotion from decision making then decision making breaks down.”

Once you assemble the components of your message, develop three primary areas of focus, or “edge pieces” for your message. Present your case using four steps: 1) Uncover the prospect’s primary challenge; 2) Align that issue with one of your competitor’s primary weaknesses; 3) Compare your competitor’s weakness unfavorably to your firm or product’s special or distinctive features; and 4) Develop a phrase that encapsulates how your solution will enable the prospect to handle its challenge differently and better.

“Your message needs to be more than just compelling facts.”

To find the right wording for step four, visualize a “message pyramid” to represent the information you want to provide. The base of the pyramid describes your solution. The center explains what it accomplishes, and the peak displays the meaning of your solution. For example: Tylenol contains acetaminophen, a pain reliever. Tylenol is special because it eliminates pain but does not upset your stomach. This is both Tylenol’s defining aspect and its brand identity. This quality – the peak of the pyramid – can be stated in a slogan: pain relief without stomach upset. Your solution phrase should explain how your prospect could handle something better or differently thanks to your product or service.

“Presenting a catalog of facts or playing 20 questions with prospective customers is the surest way to lose the sale.”

Always employ “you phrasing.” Include “you” repeatedly in your product’s story. This keeps your prospect as the focus of the pitch. Insert a few “‘What if you...’ questions” into your story. For a building cleaning services company, you might say, “What if you could leave work knowing that your after-hours cleaning service is using the right processes and tools to...eliminate cross-contamination?”

Talk to Your Prospect Like a Friend

Speak as if you were talking to a friend. For example, if a friend wants to know how you like your new car, you would not say, “It’s great. It completely optimizes my ability to get my family resources from point A to destination B.” You would speak naturally, using conventional words and phrases without resorting to buzzwords. Tell your story to your prospect in a few conversational words. For instance, the cleaning company could tell prospects, “Get a healthier clean at no extra cost.”

“Stories...have more flexibility and applications than any other messaging technique.”

For effective storytelling, use the “hero model” that worked so well for George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. The hero model narrative contains five steps: First, everything is normal. Second, things change. Third, a hero tries to fix things. Fourth, a mentor enters the picture to help and, fifth, the hero triumphs. Your prospect is always the hero. You want to inhabit the story in the role of the trusted mentor who advises the hero-prospect to use your product or service to win the day. The hero story will capture your prospect’s attention, and attention is a valuable and rare commodity. Research indicates that people lose interest in what others say after about 10 minutes. To grab attention, make your prospect’s problem the villain of your story and offer the heroic product to fix it.

Defeating the Old Brain

People pay attention in response to signals from their brain stem and other elementary neurological structures, known as the reptile brain or Old Brain. Therefore, use grabbers to ask questions that draw on basic emotions, such as “what if you” questions. Other grabbers include:

  • “Customer stories with contrast” – Stories with contrast help you persuade resistant prospects. Such a story might present a before-and-after situation about another customer – someone who earns your prospect’s empathy. These tales circumvent the Old Brain’s filtering feature by citing someone’s pain, what they gain from the product and proof that it works.
  • “3D props” – Props show prospects how your solution will work for them. For instance, draw simple, large pictures while talking to the prospect. Such graphics make complicated messages and abstract ideas easy to understand due to the “pictorial superiority effect.” A sketch on a napkin is all you need. Use your pictures to show the prospect’s problem and to depict the benefits of your solution.
“What’s truer than the truth? The story.”

Use personal stories to connect with prospects. Metaphors and analogies promote “liking,” a concept developed by noted influence researcher Robert Cialdini. Prospects purchase from salespeople whom they believe, like and appreciate. Speak to prospects as if they were your friends. Build emotion into your stories. The Old Brain, the primary decision filter, remembers emotion. Your emotion secures your prospect’s attention, which also responds to contrast, visual aids and simplicity. PowerPoint puts the Old Brain right to sleep.

“People buy on emotion and justify it with facts.”

Concrete proof, such as statistics from third parties, works well, as do demonstrations and return-on-investment stories about other customers. Depicting your prospect’s life before and after your solution, or the “mini-drama” technique, is also effective. Here, your body language and tone of voice are as important as your words. Don’t be shy or fearful. Just have a conversation.

About the Authors

Erik Peterson is vice president of strategic consulting at Corporate Visions. At the same company, Tim Riesterer is chief marketing officer and senior vice president of products and consulting.

Read summary...
Conversations That Win the Complex Sale

Book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale

Using Power Messaging to Create More Opportunities, Differentiate your Solutions, and Close More Deals

McGraw-Hill,
 


17 December 2025

Managing Your Manager

Recommendation

A stressed-out manager often results in stressed-out employees. You can have a more positive, productive professional life if you understand your supervisors and handle them according to their personality profiles. Human resources executive Gonzague Dufour identifies and explains the six common managerial types. He devotes most chapters to profiling these archetypes, listing identifying traits according to professional tactics that work or don’t work for each manager in specific situations, such as asking for a raise or dealing with a crisis. While many managers manifest characteristics from more than one boss type, and not all leaders are so easy to categorize, you will find yourself nodding in agreement with many of the author’s points. BooksInShort recommends this practical, useful book to entry- and mid-level employees, as well as to higher-level executives who wonder, “Am I a good boss?”

Take-Aways

  • No manager is perfect, so learn what works and doesn’t work for your boss.
  • Work effectively with your manager by identifying and understanding his or her type:
  • “Bullies” are tough and aggressive; they take unnecessary risks but deliver results.
  • “Good” bosses remain calm and consistent. They don’t take risks, and they can’t deal with conflict.
  • “Kaleidoscopes” shift their personality traits to gain power and are hard to understand.
  • “Stars” are high-energy and dramatic. They have little patience for procedures.
  • “Scientists” are logical and like to apply theories, but they are poor communicators.
  • “Navels” have big egos and can distract people from their goals.
  • “Seventh Leaders” are ideal bosses. They are capable of both leading and following their staff members.
  • Authentic Seventh Leaders are a rare species, but you can help your boss acquire Seventh Leader characteristics.

Summary

What Kind of Manager Is Your Boss?

Employees who understand and work well with their supervisors flourish in their jobs. Look for your boss among six common managerial types:

  • “The Bully."
  • "The Good."
  • "The Kaleidoscope."
  • "The Star."
  • "The Scientist.”
  • "The Navel.”
“Great bosses are learners. They look to learn from everything – the Internet, books, training courses, observing others and their own people.”

If you’re lucky, your boss is a rare “Seventh Leader,” who can adapt and learn from others. Each boss type has positive and negative attributes you can learn to manage.

The Bully

As the name suggests, Bully bosses are competitive, aggressive, driven and confident. Bullies motivate their employees with fear and intimidation. They aren’t afraid to question or criticize others, including their own bosses. Bullies micromanage. Many people like working for Bullies because they reward ambitious people who deliver results.

“Bullies [are] skilled at knowing where an employee’s most vulnerable spot [is] and hitting it with a barbed comment.”

Never take a Bully’s comments personally. Instead, find humor in situations; “limit the pain, target the gain.” Set a time limit on how long you will work for a Bully. To handle Bullies, avoid surprises and keep them “in the loop.” Develop an area of expertise they lack, do the jobs they hate and stand up to them.

“If you’re ambitious, if you like to be in the middle of the action, if you love testing new and innovative ideas – then you may bridle under the Good’s firm grip.”

When dealing with a Bully, remain calm. Be adaptable. Learn to be subtle. If a Bully confronts you, turn the tables by asking rhetorical questions or suggesting alternative solutions. Regularly change the technique you use when you respond so Bullies can’t categorize you.

The Good

Good managers are competent at their jobs. They’re reasonable, efficient, stable and predictable. Good managers believe in moderation and remain patient in stressful situations. They don’t think outside the box or take risks, and they avoid confrontation. Good managers ignore office politics and are poor networkers. Manage Good bosses by doing their dirty work and taking the risks they avoid.

“People who do best working for Navels tend to have their antenna up; they are always conscious of their boss’s egos and how that will impact their actions.”

Good bosses do not respond well to games, and they don’t like unpredictable, inconsistent or phony people. Be the indispensable worker Good managers can count on, and they will keep you in mind for promotion.

The Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscopes are difficult to understand because their personalities shift in different situations. A Kaleidoscope may be sweet and sensitive to customers, direct and challenging to employees, indifferent to co-workers, or any combination of these.

“When you have a powercentric boss, the last thing you want is to communicate that you don’t respect or heed his authority.”

Kaleidoscope managers “possess self-confidence bordering on arrogance.” They manipulate people to gain power, and they expect others to do the same. They are intelligent and have reasons for their actions, but they will never share their justifications with you.

Despite these foibles, you can still manage the Kaleidoscope chameleon. Accept that you will never see the “real Kaleidoscope” behind the mask, and display your power selectively. Ask Kaleidoscope managers what they want to achieve in the next year or two. Although they won’t tell you directly, you may glean insight into their priorities. Keep your Kaleidoscope informed, but filter your communications, and give Kaleidoscope managers only the information they want to know.

“Star managers...possess a certain hubris [and] believe in their ideas absolutely. Point out the flaws in their reasoning or warn them about negative outcomes...and you’ll alienate Stars.”

Recognize what actions to avoid to remain in your Kaleidoscope manager’s good graces. Don’t emulate their behavior or “play this boss.” Don’t believe the hype. Kaleidoscopes will say what you want to hear to get what they need to have. And don’t forget that Kaleidoscopes have a hidden agenda. Kaleidoscopes can be serious and challenging. Figure out their sense of humor and indulge it. Make your Kaleidoscope laugh.

The Star

Stars are dramatic and exciting; they love to be in the spotlight. A Star supervisor may throw objects when angry or shell out gifts when pleased. Stars are not subtle or discreet. They hate anything that delays action: meetings, bureaucracy, presentations, slow computers, and so on. Stars are full of energy, and they “don’t miss many opportunities to put on a show.”

“The Kaleidoscope...is myopic about power, and it’s wise never to forget this fact.”

Working with a Star means dealing with extreme highs and lows, so “enjoy the ride.” Stars expect more from their employees than other boss types. They might expect you to work evenings and weekends, for example. You may disappoint a Star, but savor the joy Stars bring to work.

Learn to steer rather than control this type of boss. Also, remember that Stars like their information straight and to the point.

“The Star wants his information quick and neat. Long or unclear explanations will irritate him to no end.”

Stars need an audience, so be a good listener. Ask them for help when you need it. Stars do not like disloyal staff members or naysayers, and they are intolerant of those who talk back. They appreciate “good soldiers” who carry out orders without asking questions. If you are a team player and you don’t need to be front and center, you may be a good fit for a Star.

The Scientist

Scientists are eager to test theories and put them into practice, and they love talking about the latest business notions and management practices. Scientists justify their actions by their belief in a theory or system. They can be pedantic, and they are happy to explain how their pet ideas apply to a situation.

“The Scientist...has a keen mind and a tremendous grasp of theory and practice.”

Scientists are good at giving and receiving feedback. They stick to the facts and leave emotions out of their analyses. Scientists, like absent-minded professors, are easily distracted and disorganized. Scientists can become sidetracked by tangents and may cancel meetings altogether. More so than other boss types, scientists are easygoing. They are amiable and get along well with their colleagues.

“Our group faced a crisis about which the Bully knew very little, yet he took it on with great confidence and handled it with great effectiveness. Confidence to the point of arrogance has its benefits.”

You can work effectively with a Scientist if you enjoy intellectual challenges and can “translate” their theories for others who don’t understand them. You must also find a balance of loyalty to your Scientist supervisor and to the organization as a whole. While the Scientist may have a trusted circle of supporters within your company, you also need to cultivate relationships outside that circle. Become a Scientist’s bridge to the outsiders, and establish a reputation for working well with others.

“Understanding how your particular boss will respond to a crisis gives you an advantage in helping him work through it.”

Scientists respect reason and logic and won’t tolerate anger or sadness. Scientists will back you as long as you support their management theories and don’t get in the way.

The Navel

The Navel is the most difficult type of boss. Navels, as in “navel gazer” (a metaphor for being so self-absorbed you just stare at your belly button) have outsized egos. Navels are excellent salespeople and are most adept at selling themselves. Many Navels believe in themselves so strongly that they regularly convince others to overlook their mistakes. Navels are ruthless, decisive and action-oriented. They make decisions quickly without consulting others, and they don’t want to hear your suggestions.

“Passively accepting an unacceptable situation or tolerating a boss who isn’t doing a lot for you strikes me as unnecessary.”

At some point in your career, you will deal with a Navel. You can’t do anything about your Navel’s ego, so find an appropriate outlet for venting. Confide in someone you trust. Build an alliance with a different manager, because the Navel has no interest in advancing your career. Recognize, however, that the Navel knows how to get things done.

You can manage a Navel. For example, tell your Navel boss that it’s your fault – even if it isn’t – that a project didn’t go as you had planned. Navels will respond to flattery only if it’s used sparingly. Discover what your Navel boss does well, and make sure that he or she has the opportunity to show off that skill.

When working with a Navel, keep your guard up. Navels are sensitive to slights. They have a “limited shelf life” and eventually will fail. Although their ability to achieve results will keep them afloat temporarily, organizations that value teamwork, staff development and transparency won’t keep Navels around for long.

Situational Management

Each manager type reacts differently to various situations, including managing during a crisis. In an emergency situation, Good managers move too slowly because they want to distribute responsibility equally. Help them by taking action. Bullies, are better equipped to deal with crises because they have no fear of challenging situations. Support your Bully manager by becoming a team player. A Kaleidoscope may sacrifice you in times of stress, so make sure you have networked with others. Keep Kaleidoscope managers informed. If they maintain power, you will, too. Stars live for crises because they love the spotlight. Follow your Star’s lead and be a good listener. When a crisis conflicts with a Scientist’s practices, take advantage of the Scientist’s willingness to receive feedback, and steer him or her in the right direction. Because Navels are most concerned about themselves, you should protect yourself first. Gather evidence that proves you did not contribute to the crisis.

At some point, you will want recognition for all your hard work, and you will seek a promotion. Bullies prefer to promote people on their own timetable. Use indirect tactics, such as starting a rumor that another company is interested in you, to alert them to your potential. Your Bully won’t want to lose you to a competitor. Because Goods fear risk, your promotion will upset their status quo. Enlist support from other team members and make your case. Kaleidoscopes only promote based on business needs and maintaining their power base. Bide your time with Kaleidoscopes, and make sure your promotion gets them something they need. Stars reward other Stars. If you want a promotion from a Star, do something that grabs his or her attention and highlights your own Star qualities. Scientists reward expertise. Invest time and effort in workshops or seminars, taking classes, and broadening your work experience. Navels will ask, “What’s in it for me?” Convince Navels that your promotion will cement their reputation for developing talent, and that it will create powerful alliances within the company.

The Seventh Leader

Great bosses encourage learning and growth, and they listen and respect their employees. Seventh Leaders adapt without an agenda and learn from their teams. Seventh Leaders can receive feedback, listen carefully to what they’re told, analyze objectively and integrate feedback into their own managerial style.

Help other bosses acquire Seventh Leader traits:

  • Bullies like to be in charge, but casually mention team members’ areas of expertise.
  • Goods are reluctant to move beyond their comfort zone. Encourage more risk taking by showing your Good examples that worked for other companies.
  • Kaleidoscopes are the most likely Seventh Leaders. Nudge them forward by alleviating their fear and paranoia over any possible loss of power. Show them how flexibility and teamwork increase their power in the long run.
  • Encourage Stars to share the spotlight with others.
  • Scientists cling to their theories. Therefore, suggest a related theory that can help open the Scientist’s eyes.
  • Navels can become Seventh Leaders, but they have the “furthest distance to travel.” Over time, you can earn your Navel’s trust. Once a Navel confides in you, suggest ways for him or her to improve.

Only you can assess your supervisor’s potential to become a Seventh Leader. Although you can’t change your supervisor, you can help any type of boss improve, and that will help you in the long run.

About the Author

Gonzague Dufour has been an HR executive with major companies worldwide.

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Managing Your Manager

Book Managing Your Manager

How to Get Ahead with Any Type of Boss

McGraw-Hill,
 



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