Meet the new boss

One of the surprises awaiting you when you return from summer vacation may be a new boss. Reorgs can happen any time, but fall is a common season for them due to the available planning time and the completion of annual rewards and promotions. Adapting to a new manager, whether as a result of a reorg or a job change, is tricky whenever it occurs.

People use a variety of strategies with a new manager. While some can be catastrophic, most are just terrible. The fundamental issue is an information gap. You don’t know your new manager’s preferences, style, philosophy, sensitivities, goals, priorities, and expectations. Even if your new boss shares this information publicly or privately, you can’t trust its accuracy because it could be a test, you might misunderstand, or your manager may not always do what they say. (Crazy, right?)

What’s the best strategy for adapting to your new boss? Nothing. Do nothing. Sure, there are some things you need to discuss with your new manager, but basically, you should sit back and watch your peers screw up and see what happens. Good times. Let’s break down the drama.

You had to be a big shot

Before discussing what you should do, let’s go over the mistakes your peers are making with your new boss.

• Telling your new boss everything that’s wrong. Your peers might think that sharing your team’s problems will be helpful and make them seem smart, but they don’t know what your new manager perceives as problems. Perhaps your peers will identify themselves as problems by complaining, missing key issues, or criticizing things that your manager supports.
• Suggesting improvements. Again, your peers are trying to be helpful and smart, but they don’t know your new manager’s priorities and preferences. Your peers might come off as too bold or too timid. Their solutions might be things your new manager has tried before that went terribly wrong. Your peers might be ignoring what your boss believes are the real problems.
• Throwing people under the bus. This is a popular variation of telling your boss what’s wrong. Your peers provide a list of all their difficult teammates, partners, and customers. In doing so, they mostly point their fingers at themselves as difficult people.
• Supporting everything your new boss proposes. While your peers believe they are showing themselves to be loyal and supportive, they instead demonstrate that they are pitiful pawns. Your new manager can count on them as subservient sheep, but not as trusted advisors or leaders.
• Working extra hard and extra hours. In demonstrating that they’re superlative workers, your peers hope to gain favor with your new manager. Instead, they might set the expectation that they work that way all the time, that they’re going to flame out, or that they’re focused on the wrong priorities.

Getting to know you

Enough of what you shouldn’t do. What you should do is stay focused on your current assignments, continue to get work done, and carefully observe what your new manager says and does, including how your boss responds to all the mistakes your peers are making. Your goal is to understand your boss’s stated and actual preferences, style, philosophy, sensitivities, goals, priorities, and expectations.

What your manager says will guide your communication. Talk and write in ways that align with your boss’s preferences (e.g., level of detail, focus of interest). Match your manager’s style and philosophy (e.g., formal vs. informal, process vs. results, gut vs. hard data). Avoid your manager’s sensitivities in your communications, align your goals and priorities in plans, and frame your work in terms of your manager’s expectations.

What your manager does will guide your actions. If your manager asks for detailed explanations but loses interest or understanding, then provide higher-level summaries but reference the details. If your manager asks for hard data but makes gut decisions, provide data along with anecdotes and opinions. Notice your manager’s unspoken sensitivities and avoid them just like you do the spoken ones. Deliver on the goals, priorities, and expectations that your manager acknowledges and rewards (as opposed to those that get lip service in plans but don’t seem to matter).

It takes time to observe your new manager’s actual preferences, style, philosophy, sensitivities, goals, priorities, and expectations. You can usually get a sense of them within a few months, but it can take a rewards cycle to really learn what your boss values and expects. When you are unsure, stick to facts in your communications (avoiding judgments and opinions), demonstrate that you can deliver your assignments reliably, and pay attention to what your manager says and does. Doing so keeps you in good standing and sets you up for future success and advancement.

Tell me what you want

Hopefully, your new manager will meet with you regularly. There are a few items worth discussing the first time you meet, before you get to know your new manager well.

• Basics about yourself that you feel comfortable sharing. This may include your preferred name (what you like to be called), your marital and parenthood status, and your hobbies and interests. What you choose to share is up to you. The goal is to connect on a personal level, so you aren’t just headcount.
• Accommodations you use. If you make use of accommodations, formal or informal, to do your job, you should alert your boss early on. Human resources won’t do it for you (although they should). You don’t get them automatically (although you should). Your new manager needs to know everything you need to perform your best. If you don’t tell your manager, and your performance suffers, that’s on you. You look strong asking for accommodations from the start. You look weak mentioning your accommodations only after you falter.
• Your expectations. You want to know what your new manager expects. Your new manager wants to know what you expect. Tell your manager how often you want feedback and in what form. Inform your manager about when you’d like to be promoted (critical for planning, assignments, and feedback). If you are on track for a promotion within a year, provide your new manager with a written summary of your next-level impact, and encourage your old manager(s) and sponsors to write a short message to your new boss endorsing you. (Otherwise, manager changes are notorious for slowing down promotion velocity.) Finally, if you expect to take vacation at a certain time or coach your kid’s team on certain afternoons, share that information up front.

These early meetings are also great for asking and gaining clarity about your manager’s preferences, style, philosophy, sensitivities, goals, priorities, and expectations. You’ll still need to observe what your manager actually does, but it’s helpful to hear what they say in order to align your communications.

The future’s so bright

It’s tricky to adapt to a new manager. You could ignore the change and just treat your new manager like your former manager, but people have different priorities and preferences, and you could be making a big mistake.

Don’t complain to your manager about what’s wrong—they may not agree and may associate you with the problems. Don’t suggest improvements—they may not align with your new manager’s goals or style. Don’t throw your difficult teammates, partners, and customers under the bus—you’ll be the one seen as difficult. Don’t enthusiastically support everything your new boss proposes—you’ll be seen as a pawn instead of an advisor or leader. Don’t work extra hard—you could be stuck with that schedule or seen as having trouble with priorities. Instead, continue to deliver your assignments reliably and pay attention to what your new manager says and does. Align your communications with what they say. Align your actions with what they do. When you first meet with your new manager, connect with them on a personal level, inform them of your formal and informal accommodations, and tell them what you expect regarding feedback, promotion, vacation, and work-life balance.

Your manager has the most influence on your career and job satisfaction. A managerial change is a big change. Treat it seriously by resetting your relationship with your manager. Learn how to work well with your new manager, regardless of their skillset, and you’ll accrue lasting benefits.