Your Manager – The Central Figure Who Dictates What You Do

Post 2 of 6 in the Series About My Stakeholders:

After understanding who our stakeholders are, it’s time to dive deeper. Let’s start with the central figure who probably influences every decision or action you make as a manager – your direct manager. Whether your manager is a source of inspiration or a challenge for you, they influence your professional direction, decision-making, and your career in general.

Why is my manager so important?

Your manager can influence a variety of areas: the goals you need to achieve, your working conditions, career development, and even the balance between work and personal life. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand the relationship with your manager thoroughly – are they acting as a mentor who guides and accompanies you? Or do they prefer to dictate instructions without allowing room for dialogue? Every manager is different, and this has a direct impact on how you work together.

So how can you improve the relationship with your manager?

The way to improve this relationship is to understand what your manager truly wants to achieve, and how you can help them with that. Yes, even if you don’t always agree with every decision or approach, identifying your manager’s interests and goals will give you an advantage. A good relationship can open opportunities for you, help you advance, and influence your success in the role.

A Story from the Field: How I Understood the Difference Between Types of Managers

In the past, I had an interesting experience with two different managers. One was my partner in every decision, gave space to raise ideas and think together, while the other preferred to dictate instructions and leave me only to execute. This required me to learn to adapt, recognize each of their working styles, and find ways to bridge the gaps. Over time, the manager who was used to giving precise instructions began to trust me more and more, and stopped dictating instructions when he recognized that I knew how to lead independently. Once trust developed, our relationship became a true partnership.

In the next post, we’ll talk about additional important stakeholders – your employees and colleagues, the people you work alongside daily, who influence your success no less.