kutulu

I work in the consulting industry and I just found out that many of the people that work for our largest client can't stand my boss. We almost lost part of a large project because it was going to involve some travel and they didn't want to do it with him. They really like working with me and my co-worker, however.

We have to let him know, this is by far our largest client. I get over half of my work from them. How would you guys approach this?

The_Jazz

With honesty. I've been on both sides of the equation here - the liked and the disliked - and prudent bosses realize that they are not the end-all-be-all of the relationship. If his job is to manage the relationship - like mine is - then he's going to want the feedback sooner than later.

I had something similar happen around the end of the year to me. Some of the assistants at my largest client thought that I was getting pompous/preachy, so I just took a step back and assigned a couple of my assistants to work directly with those that weren't feeling the love. I managed the work product but from behind the scenes. It wasn't a great feeling, but at the end of the day we succeeded and that's what counts most.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

yournamehere

Unprudent bosses might kill the messenger, though. I'm not sure of everyone's relationship and position here, but might the client's manager suggest to your boss that they like very much working with you and your co-worker? It might seem like the path of least resistance to your boss to delegate more involvement with them to the two of you.

In other words, instead of hearing "We don't like working with you," your boss will hear, "We enjoy working with kutulu and ____ . . . . . they take very good care of our needs"

__________________
If you want to avoid 95% of internet spelling errors:
"If your ridiculous pants are too loose, you're definitely going to lose them. Tell your two loser friends over there that they're going to lose theirs, too."
It won't hurt your fashion sense, either.

Willravel

If I were your boss I'd absolutely want to know asap and in as clear and honest words as possible so that I can either change my behavior around the client or make myself scarce when it comes to their business. The last thing I'd want to do is for some silly interpersonal problem to ruin a positive business relationship.

That said, your boss may have a completely different reaction. Does your boss have a temper? Does your boss have a big ego? Does your boss take offense easily? I don't know that you can get a good answer here because we don't really know who your boss is and how he might react.

Regardless, best of luck in this.

MSD

I agree with yournamehere that it's best to be tactful. Some people don't take criticism well and I prefer not to step on toes with egotists. I also agree with Will that if someone doesn't like me, I want to know why because they may see flaws in me that I'm blind to. I guess the best way to go about it is to approach it delicately, maybe even dance around the issue while you determine how best to break the news to the boss that people don't like him.

kutulu

Thanks guys, the responses were helpful. My co-worker and I are going to have lunch on Monday to talk about how we want to deal with it. We'll probably bring it up to him in the afternoon Monday. I think he should take it well

Zeraph

Hmm, I'd either go the anon way by sending him an anon email from one of those sites.

Or say "yo boss, our clients hate you, buck up or we're going under. Capache? Comprende?" In a joking sort of way.

Charlatan

Going the anon way is about as passive aggressive as you can get. It's only slightly more passive aggressive than the joking manner.

The direct approach, with tact, is the best approach.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

bagatelle

What then, if the boss has fragile ego regarding feedback? Maybe if you somehow let him overhear the bad news or have him read notes "by accident".

Next thing you know the boss will come to you (the employee in question) and tell you, that he has decided, he is not able to be very active in the next project, and you should take the lead.

I'm joking a little, but some bosses need to come up with the idea themselves, if you want something put into action.

__________________

snuggy

Try narrating a hypothetical story to your boss based on the current situation. Ask him how he would let his boss know when the clients hate him? Get an answer from him and make him realize the same. Your boss may be initially angry with you but would definitely appreciate your approach towards the situation.

audioguru

I had a situation where my boss was sending me to communicate with clients on a very complicated and detailed project so I knew directly what the instructions were. When my boss started back into the interfacing half a dozen of our clients who were defense contractors like Lockheed, Sandia, Westinghouse, etc. started telling him to send Keith, he knows what he's doing. I got fired as a preemptive protection of his job. He actually told me right to my face that I was being laid off because it was going to affect his job if it kept up.

Had I known what a righteous wrongful termination it was I'd have easily gotten between half a million to a million in a lawsuit settlement.

Patrin

Like Willravel said, how is your boss likely to take it? Has your boss been managing (and managing successfully) for a long time? Or, have his actions been costing your company in both tangible and intangible ways? And more importantly, does your manager realize this is the case with any other projects?

I've been in management for over ten years and I've learned that listening to who you are managing and gaining their trust is essential. Management is about building relationships. Both ways. Up and down the chain.

That said, do you feel you have a trusting and open enough report with your boss to tell him the straight truth?

Has he consistently and openly asked for feedback and reacted well when the feedback was given, even if it wasn't always pleasant or ego-stroking to him personally?

Wandrin

I'm self-employed and would really appreciate it if my employees (me) told me if I was offending a client/customer. Seriously, an employee's loyalty is to the company first and to the boss second. If the boss is hurting the company, then it would be the obligation of the employee to point that out.

On the other hand, if the company culture was such that pointing that out would jeopardize the employee's job, that is a "whole 'nuther story". The manager's managers can't see this? Then they are not doing their jobs.

__________________
If ignorance is bliss then why are the ignorant so angry? - Shannon Wheeler