The Boss and You: A Survival Guide

by Al Sacco

No matter who you are, you've got to report to some sort of boss. It's inevitable. Love it, hate it, or anywhere in between, we all have to serve somebody.

Whether you're a CEO accountable to a board of directors, a CIO under the lock and key of your CFO or a newbie service-tech reporting to an IT manager, you've got to form a healthy bond with the boss if you desire some control over your career. That means understanding your manager's expectations of you (even if he's not clear on them), managing said expectations, communicating effectively with him and even finding ways to cope with his quirky tics that drive you mad.

We've handpicked the stories from the CIO and CIO.com archives that will help you make the most of your relationship with your boss. To make them easy to find, we've categorized the articles according to the reporting structure (CIO-CEO and CIO-CFO), a particular activity (communicating with the boss) and certain circumstances (working for a new manager and working for a toxic boss). In these categories, which are listed and described below, you'll find resources on how to read your supervisor's facial expressions, how to say no to the boss and how to tell you're about to get fired.

While some of the stories included within this package date back a few years, the messages and lessons they convey are timeless and worth revisiting regularly. Bookmark this page, because you never know when you'll next need to reference our Boss and You Survival Guide.

The CIO/CEO Relationship

Your rapport with the CEO is perhaps your highest-stakes business relationship—regardless of whether or not you report directly to him. If you're not on your chief executive's radar—or worse, you're on his mind for the wrong reasons—getting support for new projects and investments will be a struggle. What's more, as IT executives step into more strategic roles within their enterprises, their visibility to their CEOs increases. That means more pressure, higher expectations and strict consequences when their performance falls short. The CIO/CEO Relationship page contains links to interviews with CEOs that will help you get inside their minds, and plenty of articles filled with practical advice on fostering a strong partnership with your CEO.

The CIO/CFO Relationship

Opinions on whether greater value is derived from the CIO reporting to the CEO or to the CFO vary, but regardless of your stance on the issue—or whom you report to—our CIO/CFO Relationship page will help you strengthen your relations with the individual who holds the keys to your organization's coffers and put you in touch with you inner CFO.

Communicating With the Boss

You wouldn't have made it to this point in your career if you didn't understand the importance of effective communication. You might consider your presentation, writing and speaking skills to be top-notch, but do the executives on the receiving end of your messages agree? No matter how effective a communicator you think you are, more often than not your audience will misinterpret your message. The resources contained within our Communicating With the Boss page will assist in making certain the head honcho is receiving the same message you're sending. You'll find a tool that will teach you to read your boss's mind through her facial expressions, information on how to tailor your messages to different audiences, a step-by-step guide to writing a memo, and advice on how to talk to your boss about being overworked.

Working With a New Boss

A new boss always means change—adapting your style and behavior and learning what makes your new supervisor tick. The way you handle the changes that come with the transition from one boss to another can be a career-bane or career-boon: Get off on the wrong foot with your new master and you may find yourself out of a job.

Our Working With a New Boss page contains links to articles that will help you adjust to your new manager and her expectations, hold onto your job, and know when you're about to get fired because sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the relationship between you and that new boss just won't work.

Working For a Toxic Boss

There are plenty of horrible bosses who sit in corner offices doling out dictates from on high. Some are so "toxic" that their very presence taints the entire enterprise. If you report to a loathsome leader, the resources on our Working For a Toxic Boss page will help make that big, bad boss more bearable. You'll also find links to articles that will help you determine if your reports perceive you as a maladroit manager.