\n
Everyone has a boss. Even a Fortune 500 CEO has to answer to the board and shareholders. Fortunately, you probably don\u2019t have that problem, but you do have a boss. Let\u2019s be honest, sometimes that boss can seem a little clueless and you\u2019d really like him or her to better understand how to help you.
Maybe it\u2019s time to lead your boss.<\/p>\n
\nYou can do that? Yes, but in a careful and subtle way.<\/p>\n
\nStart by understanding that your boss has many inputs from many directions and may in fact, actually be clueless about your team\u2019s efforts. So, your first step is to make a concerted effort to understand what stresses the boss and what he or she is responsible for. Then draw a line between that and your responsibilities.<\/p>\n
\nNow that you know how your responsibilities fit in with the boss\u2019s responsibilities and goals, make sure the boss knows. Here\u2019s where the subtle part comes in. Try something like, \u201cI haven\u2019t given you an update in while. Can we schedule about 30 minutes where I can let you know how my team is doing and make sure we\u2019re on the same page?\u201d This is respectful and shows you want to help the boss succeed.<\/p>\n
\nThe day before your meeting, provide a read-ahead synopsis of what you plan to cover.<\/p>\n
\nWhen you have your 30 minutes (stay within the agreed upon time) lay out what your team is doing and give a few success stories. Make sure you tie your presentation to what you learned about the boss.<\/p>\n
\nAt the end of your presentation you can mention one or two (no more) challenges your team is facing and your proposed actions. This should start a discussion where the boss may say something like, \u201cHow can I help?\u201d It doesn\u2019t always work that way, but you will at least have let the boss know that you are actively working to make his or her life easier.<\/p>\n
\nLeave a summary before you go. Make it positive. Suggest you repeat this meeting in 6 months.<\/p>\n
\nWill this magically transform your boss? Not instantly, but it will help to keep the boss more informed about what your team is doing and what help you really need. Also, you will start to develop a more trusting relationship.<\/p>\n
\nThis is a good start, but you will probably find the boss isn\u2019t always going the direction you think is best.
Well that\u2019s why they\u2019re the boss. Rather than overtly trying to steer the boss in a different direction, you can help them find better ways to accomplish their goals. But first, you must develop a trusting relationship. I have found this approach very helpful, both with my own bosses and my team leaders.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022\tRemember what you learned about the boss. Where are they weak or what really wears them out? Try to find ways to help in these areas. Of course you don\u2019t have any more time than the boss does, but there may be ways you and your team can help. For instance, the boss may have to provide data for a company report. He doesn\u2019t like it and you don\u2019t either, but since you have to do it anyway, get your inputs in ahead of the deadline.
\u2022\tIf you need the bosses help, or a decision that is beyond your pay grade, always take solutions. You\u2019ll give the boss options making her job easier and she will begin to develop trust in your thought processes.
\u2022\tIf you want the boss to do something in a particular way, provide a proposal for discussion. If\/when he agrees to your proposal, say something like, \u201cI think you\u2019re right, that would be a good way to approach it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, if you\u2019ve been reading this carefully, you may have realized that a good boss should initiate these actions. So, if you have leaders who report to you, are you being a good boss?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Everyone has a boss. Even a Fortune 500 CEO has to answer to the board and shareholders. Fortunately, you probably don\u2019t have that problem, but you do have a boss. Let\u2019s be honest, sometimes that boss can seem a little clueless and you\u2019d really like him or her to better understand how to help you.Maybe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150158,97573,113923,150159,112483],"tags":[240,150160],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-322989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coaching-and-developing-people","category-leadership-development","category-leadership-tips-techniques","category-leading-and-building-teams","category-leading-change","tag-boss","tag-clueless"],"yoast_head":"\n
Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone has a boss. Even a Fortune 500 CEO has to answer to the board and shareholders. Fortunately, you probably don\u2019t have that problem, but you do have a boss. Let\u2019s be honest, sometimes that boss can seem a little clueless and you\u2019d really like him or her to better understand how to help you.Maybe […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Help, My Boss is Clueless\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"BOSS\",\"Clueless\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Coaching and Developing People\",\"Leadership Development\",\"Leadership Tips & Techniques\",\"Leading and Building Teams\",\"Leading change\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\",\"name\":\"Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Help, My Boss is Clueless\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network","og_description":"Everyone has a boss. Even a Fortune 500 CEO has to answer to the board and shareholders. Fortunately, you probably don\u2019t have that problem, but you do have a boss. Let\u2019s be honest, sometimes that boss can seem a little clueless and you\u2019d really like him or her to better understand how to help you.Maybe […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Help, My Boss is Clueless","datePublished":"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989"},"wordCount":676,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["BOSS","Clueless"],"articleSection":["Coaching and Developing People","Leadership Development","Leadership Tips & Techniques","Leading and Building Teams","Leading change"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989","name":"Help, My Boss is Clueless - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-28T09:41:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=322989#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Help, My Boss is Clueless"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=322989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=322989"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=322989"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=322989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}