"Anyone who’s ever held a job knows what it feels like to resent management. Sometimes it seems like your boss couldn’t screw in a light bulb without help.
Thankfully, there are ways to get ahead in business and leave your troubles behind. A few devious tricks can help steal your boss’ job–particularly if you’re willing to engage in cutthroat behavior.
Scheming and plotting may not be the nicest way to get the job, but it can be very effective. First step: Charm the boss. Subtly gain trust by being an exemplary employee. Provide him with the support he needs, but never outshine him. Create the illusion that you’re indispensable. Mirror the boss’s interests outside of work too, always being the perfect courtier.
The key here is to boost your boss’s ego and make him more confident–maybe too confident. “A charmer is someone who makes you feel like you’re a better person than you are. You’re funnier, prettier, smarter,” says Robert Green, author of The 48 Laws of Power. “[Charmers] have a way of saying things where you come away impressed with yourself.”
Meanwhile, build a coalition. Volunteer for assignments from your boss’s boss and other executives. Befriend them in the same manner as your boss. Take an interest in their lives and always have something to chat about when you bump into them.
Next, set the trap. There will come a time when your boss is in the spotlight; maybe he needs to give a big presentation to a client or speak in front of the board of directors.
Thankfully, there are ways to get ahead in business and leave your troubles behind. A few devious tricks can help steal your boss’ job–particularly if you’re willing to engage in cutthroat behavior.
Scheming and plotting may not be the nicest way to get the job, but it can be very effective. First step: Charm the boss. Subtly gain trust by being an exemplary employee. Provide him with the support he needs, but never outshine him. Create the illusion that you’re indispensable. Mirror the boss’s interests outside of work too, always being the perfect courtier.
The key here is to boost your boss’s ego and make him more confident–maybe too confident. “A charmer is someone who makes you feel like you’re a better person than you are. You’re funnier, prettier, smarter,” says Robert Green, author of The 48 Laws of Power. “[Charmers] have a way of saying things where you come away impressed with yourself.”
Meanwhile, build a coalition. Volunteer for assignments from your boss’s boss and other executives. Befriend them in the same manner as your boss. Take an interest in their lives and always have something to chat about when you bump into them.
Next, set the trap. There will come a time when your boss is in the spotlight; maybe he needs to give a big presentation to a client or speak in front of the board of directors.
Since you’re an indispensable part of his team, you’ll have a significant role in the project. This is when you strike. You might leave out a key document or piece of information that makes it impossible for your boss to finish the presentation. Or encourage him to take the work in a direction you know higher-ups will hate. Either way, you come in and save the day with exactly what’s needed.
By this point, since you’ve been laying the groundwork elsewhere, your boss’s bosses know you and like you. They’ll think you saved the day–and the job will be yours.
Of course, if you get caught trying to sabotage your boss, it could land you in serious trouble. Power-hungry but risk-averse workers are probably better off utilizing more conventional paths to power, like developing a unique insight on your business. [and personally TEN 4 Enterprises recommends to try a less vindictive approach]
One trick to gaining that perspective is to act like a customer: visit the company’s stores or use its products. If you work in management at an airline, book and fly a couple flights in coach. It will help you learn what the company’s problems are and develop solutions on how to fix them.
“It gives you power, because you become surprisingly knowledgeable about problems and you can become the problem solver,” says Jeffrey Fox, founder of marketing consulting firm Fox and Company. “When was the last time the top 50 people at Northwest Airlines bought their own ticket, got bumped, and saw how [customers] were treated?”
Another way to claw your way up the ladder: Do tedious work with gusto. When Fox was fresh out of business school, he worked for a company where the boss was throwing a private party and asked him to deliver some cases of wine.
It wasn’t part of Fox’s job, but he jumped at the opportunity. He called the boss’s wife, arranged to drop off the wine, and even offered to do a wine tasting at the party. “She raved about me to her husband,” says Fox.
Coalition building is important even if you’re not using your allies to butter up or double-cross your boss. Get to know the higher-ups professionally by asking them for advice and to critique your ideas. Develop a mentor relationship. Once you gain their trust, they can expose you to high-profile projects and champion your ideas.
Another way to get recognized: Become an expert on something that matters to your employer. Teach an in-house class on the topic. You’ll become the go-to person in the organization, which will make you indispensable.
Says Suzanne Bates, author of Speak Like a CEO: Secrets to Commanding Attention and Getting Results: “Visibility equals power in most organizations.”"
Opportunity. Strategy. Solutions.
TEN 4 Enterprises - Management Consulting Services
www.ten4enterprises.com
Courtesy: Tara Weiss
By this point, since you’ve been laying the groundwork elsewhere, your boss’s bosses know you and like you. They’ll think you saved the day–and the job will be yours.
Of course, if you get caught trying to sabotage your boss, it could land you in serious trouble. Power-hungry but risk-averse workers are probably better off utilizing more conventional paths to power, like developing a unique insight on your business. [and personally TEN 4 Enterprises recommends to try a less vindictive approach]
One trick to gaining that perspective is to act like a customer: visit the company’s stores or use its products. If you work in management at an airline, book and fly a couple flights in coach. It will help you learn what the company’s problems are and develop solutions on how to fix them.
“It gives you power, because you become surprisingly knowledgeable about problems and you can become the problem solver,” says Jeffrey Fox, founder of marketing consulting firm Fox and Company. “When was the last time the top 50 people at Northwest Airlines bought their own ticket, got bumped, and saw how [customers] were treated?”
Another way to claw your way up the ladder: Do tedious work with gusto. When Fox was fresh out of business school, he worked for a company where the boss was throwing a private party and asked him to deliver some cases of wine.
It wasn’t part of Fox’s job, but he jumped at the opportunity. He called the boss’s wife, arranged to drop off the wine, and even offered to do a wine tasting at the party. “She raved about me to her husband,” says Fox.
Coalition building is important even if you’re not using your allies to butter up or double-cross your boss. Get to know the higher-ups professionally by asking them for advice and to critique your ideas. Develop a mentor relationship. Once you gain their trust, they can expose you to high-profile projects and champion your ideas.
Another way to get recognized: Become an expert on something that matters to your employer. Teach an in-house class on the topic. You’ll become the go-to person in the organization, which will make you indispensable.
Says Suzanne Bates, author of Speak Like a CEO: Secrets to Commanding Attention and Getting Results: “Visibility equals power in most organizations.”"
Opportunity. Strategy. Solutions.
TEN 4 Enterprises - Management Consulting Services
www.ten4enterprises.com
Courtesy: Tara Weiss
