A manager asks a pharmacy technician to undertake some project management training because the pharmacy service requires proper planning and scheduling to be successful. The technician is reluctant. However, the manager knows that they have hopes for a future management role and sells the course as part of that journey. The technician attends the programme. 

Appreciating how to manage your own boss is critical to any leadership journey. And appreciating a manager’s behavioural style is essential to successful communication. If you have a line manager, they will expect you to demonstrate flexibility, self-confidence, adaptability, reliability and ambition. They expect you to be proactive, not reactive. 

Understanding those expectations is critical. Do they like detail or are they happy with the big picture? Deliver your information based on the answer. This may involve sitting down and working through, and you may have to take the first step. But you need to work it out for yourself. Think about what your manager needs to achieve this year. What could they delegate and what, therefore, could you offer to take away from them?

Incidentally, most line managers will forgive the mistakes of emerging managers, although disloyalty is often unforgivable. Talking negatively about your manager, openly opposing unpopular decisions or working to your own agenda are signs of disloyalty.