How to Change Your Boss's Mind Without Losing Your Job-It Industry-php.cn

How to Change Your Boss's Mind Without Losing Your Job

Your boss is about to make a stupid decision.

You are already used to this routine. They make bad decisions that ultimately lead to the company losing money. When they realize they are in trouble, they get angry and blame you or your colleagues.

"Why no one told me?"

Many developers often encounter this dilemma. Their boss makes unrealistic demands and then reacts negatively when you can’t deliver the results they want.

What's wrong with them?

Key Points

Changing your boss’s mind is a valuable skill that not only benefits the company, but also enhances your career prospects. It can help avoid major problems, generate more revenue, effectively solve complex problems, and create a supportive work environment.
Changing your boss’s mind requires good working relationships and a framework. This change should benefit the company, colleagues and bosses, not just for personal gain. It should not violate the instructions of the superior or disrupt the relationship.
To change the boss's mind, you can use the R.E.D.U.C.E method. This includes reducing resistance through empathy and active listening, reducing endowment effects by demonstrating the cost-reducing endowment effect of sticking to the status quo, narrowing distance by making ideas more acceptable, mitigating uncertainty by providing risk-free solutions, and providing evidence to Support your ideas.
If used properly, the ability to change the boss’s mind can lead to career development. However, if used to deceive or manipulate, it can lead to unemployment. It is important to act in the best interests of the boss and maintain a strong relationship with them.
Your boss may need your help to avoid making bad decisions. Being an employee who can help them take on the burden can lead to significant career advancement.

Your boss needs you to change their mind

Good decision making is very difficult.

Whatever your boss has, their job is difficult. At any time, they are spinning and balancing multiple aspects:

They are working with legal departments to deal with contract or project-level disputes.
They need help from HR to deal with lazy and morale-breaking developers on their team.
Supervisors and executives are putting pressure on them to achieve results they know are impossible.
They were pushed into a management position where they were incompetent and uninterested.
Most of their developers are fighting for the same opportunity.
What you don't know is that their budgets are cut in half; executives are asking for more with less money.

Your manager is likely to be frustrated, overwhelmed and forced into a corner. Many managers lack the knowledge, resources or support they need to do their job well.

This is not my problem.

Ah, but it is. Your boss is looking for an employee who is willing to help them take on the burden.

So what?

When you gain the ability to change your boss’s mind, you can also provide your manager, employer and yourself with the following abilities:

Avoid serious problems that ultimately lead to layoffs or sacks (such as inefficiency, overspending budgets, bloated or full of inferior codes)
Create more revenue for your company (it is important when you are looking for a raise)
Find cost-effective and more efficient ways to solve complex problems
Correctly evaluate the opportunities that arise - this means that you are aware of the upcoming opportunities before other colleagues or team members

Create a work environment around you that is willing to spare no effort to help your allies.

But this is a risk.

If you spare no effort to help your boss or manager and you do it wrong, it can backfire. Also, you're just a developer. What should you do to help your manager?

Why bother to change the boss’s mind?

This is how elite developers are developed. When I use the word "elite", I refer to the top ten percent of developers in a particular industry or career. These developers receive a range of benefits that other developers cannot obtain:
They pay a lot higher than most developers
Customers and employers are waiting/fighting for opportunities to work with them
They were promoted before they were promoted

They receive special allowances and rewards that most developers cannot obtain

College workers, publishers and thought leaders seek their knowledge to earn more rewards

They can exert greater control

Customers and employers trust them at the beginning of the relationship

Customers and employers are willing to pay for their equipment, growth and development

So, what do these elite developers know about most developers don't know? This is not

about work.

What does this mean? Elite developers focus on very different things:

The value they offer

The people they serve

Most developers focus on work, improving their skills, increasing their knowledge, and producing higher quality work. Elite developers do the same.

But they understand that being good (not just good) in your job is an entry-level requirement. This is the part that most developers miss; they naturally think that being a good developer is enough to improve their career prospects.

This is not enough. Elite developers use value formulas to create huge benefits for their managers. Do you know? This is a formula created by PayPal founder Peter Thiel. This is the formula used by elites and high performers in every industry: Create the value of X dollars. Capture the Y% of X. Can you see what's going on?

The more value these developers create for their managers and employers, the more value they can earn and extract for themselves.

What value can developers show?

You can:

Proactively resolve recurring or long-standing team problems in your free time.
Prove the negative impact of real-time code or development process on the organization.
Take more than necessary work, strive to win their trust, and become an indispensable employee over time.
Consistently exceeds the key performance indicators and metrics in the organization (such as technical debt, number of lines of code, ability to deliver code, timely completion deadlines, etc.). This will vary by organization.
Create tools, documents, resources, or libraries to reduce development time throughout your organization.
Show customers five issues of how your code solves strategy.

Isn't detailed enough?

Think about it this way. Your manager wants you to provide two results: regular results and transformative results. Here is my quick review of previous posts.

Routine Results: Good at your job, do your best, and perform well overall. If you are a JavaScript developer, your code is perfect, you are helpful, productive, and more.
Change results: These results improve the overall situation of your company, industry, or customers. It can be as simple as sharing knowledge or as detailed as the software that changes the industry.

This is why these results are important. Build trust with regular results. When they trust you, it’s easy for your boss to risk you and invest more in you.

What is this good for you? In fact, there are many benefits.

If you can change your boss’s mind reliably and trustworthyly, you can write down your own (career aspect) plan. These are not noble or unrealistic claims. Elite developers often achieve this.

What do you need to change your boss's mind

You need two things: good working relationships and a framework.

You need to know what, when and how to do it when and when to change your boss’s mind. Here is a brief breakdown of each aspect.

Change the boss's mind under the following circumstances:

Their decision hurts you, the company or themselves
They are about to make a decision that will cost the company money, slow down the project progress or unnecessarily increase development time
Their decisions will dissatisfie the client or client and are more likely to move their business elsewhere
Their decisions will upset their colleagues and colleagues or make others opposed to them

Did you see the pattern?

Don't try to change their minds if:

This change is only beneficial to you or is mainly beneficial to you
It makes your boss' situation worse (apparently)
It violated the instructions of the boss' superiors
This change damages or destroys relationships between managers, colleagues or clients

If you try to change their mind:

You are quite confident that you can improve the situation of your boss, colleagues, team or organization
Your boss lacks necessary or essential key information
They are asking for feedback from you, or have a proven open policy to solicit feedback You have built the trust you need to take action on behalf of your colleagues

This strategy - changing the boss's mind - is powerful. If this strategy is abused or abused, it will end your career. Following the framework listed above can protect you from any rebound that could cost you your job. At this point, the most obvious question is, how to do this?

How do you start to change your boss’s mind?

Most people use push strategies.

They try to convince, coax, persuade, bully or negotiate to get the results they want. Don't get me wrong, these strategies do work. When they work, it is because positive relationships have been established.

These strategies are not very effective for acquaintances or contacts.

They tend to backfire because your boss has a complex anti-persuasion filter that protects them from suspicious people and situations. What do you do when someone you are unfamiliar with tries to “persuad” you?

If you are like most people, you will resist.

There is a better way to convince your boss. Jonah Berger, author of The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind, shares some counterintuitive tips for persuasion.

What kind of secret?

Push the person you are trying to persuade, and they will strongly resist. Tell or order people what to do and they are unlikely to listen. According to Berg, good negotiators focus on reducing stress rather than knocking hard on the door.

They focus on:

Reduce fear, uncertainty and hostility in their recipients

Eliminate the barriers that hinder their solutions
Develop solutions that are beneficial to all involved
Allows to achieve changes with less energy rather than more energy

Reduce resistance: This means that people feel that their choices are being deprived of, or limit their range of choices. Using empathy and active listening, you can reduce the resistance you create with your boss when sharing your thoughts.
Easy the endowment effect: If it does not break, don't repair it. This is the summary of the endowment effect. Showing the consequences or costs of the status quo to your boss is a way to reduce the endowment effect. If you can prove that doing things the same way can cause harm, they are more likely to change.
Reduce the distance: Have you ever heard of, “Isn’t that my job?” This indicates that the request is beyond the person’s “acceptance range.” They are asked to do something too much beyond the normal or expected range. If your mind is too advanced, the resistance will increase. Reducing distance reduces resistance.
Easy uncertainty: Will your new solution be as good or better as the old one? How do I know? Your boss may think your idea is too risky. Using a trial period, risk-free solution or test drive to eliminate risks can allow you to defend your ideas in a way that reduces your boss’ risk.
Providing evidence for supporting evidence: Providing social proof, feedback from others in similar situations, case studies and other forms of “evidence” is an excellent way to relieve boss fear. The more evidence you can provide that “things will get better”, the easier it is for your boss to believe and accept your point of view.

Anyway, these principles act as catalysts to reduce resistance.

What does this look like?

Suppose you are trying to get your boss to switch the library. The proven libraries your company uses are outdated and not as powerful as you know it. You have found a better solution. It will save the company a lot of time, money and energy.

This is a game changer and it will help you increase the delivery speed of your code by 40%.

What should you do?

When you ask this question to your boss, he will resist. You use R.E.D.U.C.E to change your boss’s mind.

You start from the following aspects:

provides them with two to three libraries they can choose to use (there are options to let you find more).
Show them why they need it, point out that their boss is not happy with them, your team is overspending on budget, and they are using huge technical debt delivery codes. For half of your projects, software entropy costs are incredibly high.
Eliminate distance with irresistible proposals. You do all the work and they will get all the credit. You will have all the work in hand, but you will also do this extra work and you will check regularly to provide updates to your boss.
Reduce uncertainty by giving them the option to compare and compare these two options so that they can verify that the new option can indeed outperform the old one.
Finally, you share case studies, samples, and test data to show that these new libraries can make significant differences.

Did you see the difference?

Rather than just coming to your boss and saying, “Hey, we should use this instead” or begging them to understand your point of view, use R.E.D.U.C.E.

If you have a good relationship and a good track record (regular results plus transformative results), your boss may be more willing to accept the ideas and changes you think of.

This is how you win people's hearts and thoughts.

Changing your boss's mind feels like manipulation and almost dishonest

If you find yourself able to change their minds frequently, you may feel like you are manipulating them.

And it is indeed the case.

If you ignore the framework I mentioned earlier and you are using R.E.D.U.C.E to trick, coax or manipulate your boss, then you are a bad employee.

But this is not what you are now, right?

This will be obvious if you choose to stick to the framework I mentioned and you are willing to put in the necessary effort to act in the best interests of your boss. If you have a good relationship with your boss and your team, you will have the tradeoffs you need to make a big change.

What if you don't have it?

What if you do this kind of thing in your organization that will make you fire? Is there a way to change their mind?

Your relationship is key.

If you can’t build a healthy relationship with your boss or colleague, changing your mind is the least concern you.

Your boss wants you to change their mind

Your boss needs your help to deal with future challenges.

They are about to make a stupid decision.

They are about to make a bad decision, which may make things harder than necessary. They may feel betrayed when they realize they are in trouble.

"Why no one helped me?"

This looks like a dilemma that many developers often encounter. Their boss makes unrealistic demands and then reacts negatively when you can’t deliver the results they want.

Become the change they need.

Become an employee whose bosses need to help them take on the burden, and you will find your career will go a long way.

Frequently Asked Questions about Changing Boss's Idea

What are the effective strategies that can change the boss’s mind?

You can use a variety of strategies to change your boss’s mind. First, it is important to understand their views and concerns. This will help you adjust your argument in a way that will address these concerns. Secondly, express your thoughts clearly and confidently. Use data and facts to support your argument. Finally, be patient and perseverance. Changing a person’s mind, especially in a professional environment, takes time.

How to express my concerns to the boss without appearing confrontation?

The key to expressing your concerns without appearing confrontation is to use the “I” statement instead of the “you” statement. This helps express your feelings without blaming or criticizing your boss. In addition, be clear and concise in communication and avoid using aggressive or disrespectful language.

What should I do if my boss refuses to change his mind?

If your boss refuses to change his mind, it is important to be professional and respectful. You can seek feedback to better understand their views. If this issue is causing serious problems, you may want to consider discussing with the HR department or seeking advice from a tutor or career coach.

How to establish a better relationship with your boss?

Building better relationships with your boss includes open and honest communication, showing initiative and showing your commitment to your role and organization. Update your progress with them regularly and ask for feedback. This will show that you value their opinions and are eager to improve.

Can I ask for a change of manager?

Yes, you can ask for a change of manager. However, this should be a last resort and only consider if your relationship with your current boss negatively affects your job performance or mental health. It is important to have good reasons and handle this situation in a professional way.

How to deal with the new boss?

Training new bosses involves understanding their expectations, adapting to their management style, and building positive relationships with them. It is important to communicate openly, show initiative and be flexible.

Why can't employees ask for manager replacement?

While employees can ask for manager replacement, this is not always approved. This is because the organization needs to consider the impact on the team dynamics, the reasons for the request, and whether it is in the best interest of the company.

What should and should not be done when asking for a manager to be changed at work?

Provide effective reasons when requesting a change of manager, stay professional and be prepared for any results. Don't make personal attacks, don't disrespect, and don't expect to change immediately.

How to improve your relationship with your boss?

Improving relationships with your boss involves open communication, understanding their expectations and demonstrating your commitment to your role. Solicit feedback regularly and show initiative in work.

What should I do if I am not satisfied with my boss’ decision?

If you are not satisfied with your boss’ decision, it is important to express your concerns with professionalism and respect. Seek feedback to better understand their views. If this issue continues to cause problems, consider discussing with the HR department or seeking advice from a mentor or career coach.

The above is the detailed content of How to Change Your Boss's Mind Without Losing Your Job. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!