On the Horizon - Upcoming events for April and beyond

A variety of upcoming events that may be of interest to our readers...

If you would like to promote your event, please contact us at The Bickley Blog

Directors Toolkit Briefing: What keeps directors awake at night?
12 April 2012, 5:30pm - 8pm in Perth, Australia
Presented by the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Today, directors face a multitude of external challenges - from their suppliers, financiers, the Australia economy and the global economy. In this brad discussion, a panel of advisors and ASX listed directors will discuss their views on the some of the hot issues for 2012.  Speakers include: Roch Krasnoff, Conquest Mining Ltd; Simon Winfield, Hays Executive; Tony Adcock, Birchman Group; Jeff Vibert, Grant Thorton. For details and registration, visit the AICD website.

Getting Started: Realising your Board Potential

9 May 2012, 2pm - 5pm in Perth, Australia

Presented by Women on Boards

A workshop specifically designed to assist you with strategies for board and career development. The session provides an overview of what it takes to be a director and strategies for including board work in your career. For more information and registration, visit the Women on Boards webpage.

Engineering Leadership Conference
Passing the Baton: Engineering Australia's Future
30 May - 2 June 2012 in Adelaide, Australia
Presented by Engineers Australia

This year's theme is Passing the Baton, exploring the profession's direction through a series of dynamic and thought-provoking speakers and presentations.  The key note address will be delivered by former Australian Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Tim Fischer.

Wired for Influence Workshop

19 July 2012, 9am - 5pm in Melbourne, Australia

Presented by Women on Boards

A workshop designed for business people at all stages of career from early career to Non-Exec Directors interested in developing strategies to boost influencing for career success. For more information and registration, visit the Women on Boards webpage. 

The 8th European Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance
8-9 November 2012 at Neapolis Univeristy Pafos, Cyprus

The ECMLG will bring together a unique blend of leadership scholars, researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to share the insights of management, leadership and governance in the 21st Century.  Call for papers is now open, with abstracts due on 20 April 2012.  For further details of conference tracks and key dates, visit the conference webpage.

The Boss - How do you build this important relationship?

Undoubtedly, the relationship with your manager or supervisor is an important one in the world of work. This relationship can influence you to stay in a job, or to leave a company; to get a promotion, or to hover at a career plateau. A change of boss can be a great thing - doors open, new opportunities and project are offered; or it can prove a challenge - learning to negotiate a new personality or to establish trust, credibility and "rules" of working once gain.

source

In a recent post, The Brazen Careerist offer a number of tips for boosting the subordinate-superior relationship.

• Following Through
• Communicate Often
• Pitch New Ideas
• Always Have a Positive Outlook
• Be Able to Joke Around
• Ask to Take on Additional Projects
• Act on Feedback

Of course, every relationship is individual - each manager is different, and work situations vary across industries, and countries and cultures (see for instance Maurne 2011 for his work on female supervisors, or Abraham 2011 for an interesting study on career management strategies in Indian Banks). Increasingly, methods of work are varied with virtual work and telecommuting becoming common and presenting additional challenges for relationship building (see the work by Golden and Veiga 2008 on the role of superior-subordinate relationships and job satisfaction and performance of virtual workers).

Perhaps it is you that is the boss, with team members seeking to establish and further a relationship with you. When becoming a "boss" for the first time, this can be a challenge. Many questions and doubts may surface - How do I act as a manager? How do I establish relationships with my team members that will lead to a productive and successful team?

In my experience - having worked for male and female managers, and having been a manager to both men and women; managing in-office and remote teams, and now being a virtual worker myself -communication is  the key to establishing and reinforcing my relationships at work - both upwards and downwards.  When there have been difficulties (and certainly there have been some!) a disjoint in communication styles or expectations has often been the culprit.  "Communicating Often" has been particularly important as I've changed roles or increased in seniority and the geographic distance of my superior or team members has increased (perhaps he/she/they are in another state or country) or as the number of members in my team has grown.

What are your tips for developing and improving relationships with those more senior? if you are a boss, how can you encourage healthy and beneficial relationships with your team members? As a woman, do any of the tips listed above seem more important or poignant to you?