Outsider or insider, who is more effective?

What’s your strategy for becoming the inside guy with your boss? 

Your Rant: The following is an e-mail from a reader who went from being a “rebel” to being a “mole” (he defines a mole as someone who works alongside his boss to make change from the inside). I think his e-mail raises interesting questions about the best way to really change an organization.

DEAR WOUNDED: Are you having trouble with your boss? Is your boss making bad decisions? Are you the one with all of the answers?

I felt that I had great answers, so I became the rebel of my organization. I spoke out and made myself heard. It was fun and relieved my tension. The group actually appreciated it. However, after a while I realized my boss didn’t, and that he could deny certain privileges in my job; going to seminars, books and other perks.

You see, in my boss’s eyes, I was a troublemaker who no longer deserved those privileges that a good employee should get. Since I was a troublemaker, the boss listened to me less and less. A rebel was nothing more than a spoiled brat, and after a while, no one listens to a spoiled brat.

I decided to rethink my position on being a rebel. In the meantime, I was reading books on leadership, management, supervision, how to make the workplace fun and how to deal with difficult people.

Over time, I realized my boss was a human being just like the rest of us who was just trying to survive. I realized the best way I could make a difference in the workplace was to become a part of the team. And this included my boss. I learned my boss was simply trying to make decisions without trusted, well-informed people around him. Since I have read so many books and knew the division so well, the well-informed part was easy. So I rebuilt my bridge of communication which helped build the trust needed to be part of the team.

I then took it to the next level and started partnering with my boss. I was able to affect some of the decisions that had to be made. In the process of doing this, I learned that being a boss is a difficult job. Sometimes, you just can’t explain your decision to the group, and when you do, what took hours to hash out is hard to sum up in just a few minutes and have the team come to the same conclusion.

Sure, it was fun to shout from the outside. But I learned that you can accomplish a lot more by going on the inside. People tend to circle the wagons when attacked from the outside. But it’s a different story when constructive feedback comes from someone on the inside. I have become a mole, and now I make a difference.

With my increased knowledge and ability to communicate effectively, I too may someday become the boss. Ironically, I will then be the very thing that I rebelled against.

911 Pulse:

Which best describes your approach at work?

I just show up, 21.4 percent

I’m a mole, 28.5 percent

I’m a rebel, 50 percent

User strategy:

Our most interesting response for the difference between being a rebel or a mole at work comes from G.G. in Cincinnati: “I was a boss and a rebel. It didn’t work. It seeams like management wants people to just agree with them and be quiet. I couldn’t do this. Now I’m “just a worker.” My rebellious attitude is still there, but not the stress. I voice my opinion to lower management and let them do with it what they want. I have become what I call a “union worker.” I do what I’m told, right or wrong, And let someone else deal with the outcome. In a way I don’t like doing this, but it is now a matter of self-preservation.”

Bob Rosner and Sherrie Campbell author the nationally syndicated workplace911 column weekly. Bob’s a best-selling author and award-winning journalist who has responded to over 50,000 emails from employees, bosses and entrepreneurs. Sherrie’s a relationship expert and award-winning comedian who has offered quick, intuitive and humorous responses to over 30,000 people. He’s been called “Dilbert, with a solution.” She’s the counselor with a kick. Together they’ve turned rants into raves via TV, radio, print and live on their website at workplace911.com.