The Rules Of Management: A Definitive Code for Managerial Success, Expanded Edition

Chapter 105. Find the Right Sounding Board

Management isn’t easy. I mean, sometimes it all goes swimmingly, but sooner or later you come up against a tricky problem—handling someone difficult, finding the best way to address a particular challenge, deciding how to spread the budget around most effectively.

What you need is another pair of ears—a sounding board. It needs to be someone who understands the issues, so probably someone in the company. On the other hand, you shouldn’t really be talking about these things with junior colleagues, especially if they involve other managers. But sometimes you don’t really want to discuss it with your boss—definitely not a good idea if your boss is the subject matter.

It can be tricky to find the right ...