Can someone teach me how to be a yes-man and boost the egos of unskilled, manipulative managers? Apparently, that's the skill needed by TPD Associate Director. Please for once can they let go Boston AD …
Unfortunately, I'm not good at that, so they'll probably let me go.
@OP You should seriously look for opportunities outside Verizon. In my experience, there are a lot of bad people among the ADs and SDs and you don't want to spend the rest of your working life bouncing from one bad boss to the next. In addition the way stack ranking is practiced encourages performative nonsense rather than real achievements. I've worked for other companies before joining Verizon and while none of them were a utopia, Verizon is much, much worse. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never joined.
@j8 True but I think Gemini got it mostly right! The only thing I would add is that you have to figure out the personality of your boss which isn’t always what it seems. Some of them seem outwardly supremely confident or even arrogant but are inwardly insecure and easily offended. They need to be handled with kid gloves. You have to kiss their ring. Etc…
@ac Yet AI written post, sad.
Its not limited to one AD .. it’s company wide problem.. severe at some places and not so severe at other.
Anyways who do we need so many managers to begin with ? They should flatten the organization.
@ac The numbering got messed up after pasting the answer. It should obviously go 1, 2, 3, 4 not 1, 1, 1, 1
@OP Gemini answers:
To become a successful "yes-man" for career advancement, you must transform from a passive pleaser into a strategic ally. The goal is to make your superiors look excellent, minimize friction, and position yourself as the ultimate, reliable problem solver. Here is how to strategically use the "yes-man" approach to advance your career:
Agree Pubicly: Support your manager’s ideas and initiatives in open meetings. Public alignment builds trust and positions you as a loyal team player.
Filter Out Friction: Eliminate phrases like "Are you sure?" or "That might be hard." Replace them with "Absolutely, let's make that happen."
Praise Subtly: Avoid obvious flattery. Instead, compliment the logic or vision behind your manager’s decisions (e.g., "That approach really aligns with our Q3 goals").
Deliver Without Drama: When you say yes, execute the task quietly and efficiently. Avoid complaining about the workload, as your value lies in making your manager’s life easier.
Anticipate Needs: Say yes to tasks before they are even assigned. Notice a gap in a project and tell your manager, "I've already started looking into that for you."
Frame Obstacles as Choices: If a request is genuinely impossible, do not say no. Instead, say, "Yes, I can absolutely do that. To prioritize this, should I push back Project A or Project B?"
Offer Minor Alternatives: If a manager's idea has a fatal flaw, protect them by suggesting a tiny adjustment. Frame it as an enhancement: "Yes, and we can make it even stronger by adding..."
Keep Pushback Private: If you must raise a serious concern, do it in a one-on-one setting. Never challenge a superior's authority or intelligence in front of the team.
Claim Your Wins: Ensure your manager knows you were the one who delivered on the promise. A silent yes-man gets exploited; a visible yes-man gets promoted.
Tie Work to Advancement: Use your track record of reliability as leverage during performance reviews to explicitly ask for promotions and raises.