BUSS5080 · Succeeding In The Accounting Profession
Managing Performance & Your Boss
This mid-semester online module has no workshop but is fully examinable, and it teaches two distinct skills. First, how to improve someone else's performance: diagnose the cause of a shortfall before you deliver feedback (is it ability, motivation, resources or the situation?), then run a two-way, behavioural, future-focused appraisal interview that ends in an agreed measurable plan (Gabarro & Hill). Second, how to manage your own boss as a relationship of mutual dependence (Gabarro & Kotter; Dillon) — the person who controls your references, promotions, resources and network. The single most-rewarded idea is diagnose before you deliver, and the managing-up rule is that you adapt your own behaviour rather than trying to fix the boss.
What this chapter covers
- 011. Why this module matters — no workshop, still examinable; your boss controls references, promotions, resources and network
- 022. Diagnose before you deliver — the four roots of underperformance: ability, motivation, resources, situation
- 033. The ability x motivation grid — train (can't/will), retain (can/will), motivate (can/won't), re-fit (can't/won't)
- 044. Running the appraisal interview — two-way, behavioural (not personal), future-focused, ends in a measurable plan
- 055. The appraisal sequence — diagnose then deliver then agree a plan and set a follow-up date (Gabarro & Hill)
- 066. Managing up — a mutual-dependence relationship; understand the boss's goals, pressures and style, then adapt yours
- 077. Difficult-boss types (Dillon) — micromanager, absentee, credit-stealer, incompetent, former-peer; adapt, don't 'fix'
- 088. Supervisor support and career success — a positive correlation (~0.58) with subjective (not objective) career success
Applied short-answer — running an appraisal with an underperformer
- +2Diagnose first. Before assuming Marco 'won't try', Priya gathers specific behavioural evidence (the 3 missed dates, the 2 errors) and asks which of the four roots fits: ability (does he know the new consolidation system?), motivation, resources (is he covering a vacant seat and out of hours?), or situation (were the deadlines and cost-centre mappings ever made clear?). Misreading a 'can't' as a 'won't' would send her to the wrong fix.
- +2Run it two-way and behavioural. Open by inviting Marco's own view, then describe the observed behaviours and their impact (late packs delay the whole close; mislabelled centres risk a management-report error) rather than attacking his character. Locate the cause together instead of pronouncing a verdict.
- +2Agree a plan and a follow-up. Co-create measurable next steps — a peer-review check on cost-centre tags and an internal draft deadline set two days early — confirm the support Priya will provide (system training if it is an ability gap), and book a follow-up in one close cycle. Feedback should build the person and the relationship, not humiliate.
Key terms
- Performance diagnosis
- Root-cause analysis of a performance shortfall — deciding whether it stems from ability, motivation, resources or the situation — done before any feedback or intervention.
- Ability x motivation grid
- A skill-will 2x2 that turns diagnosis into action: train (can't yet, wants to), retain and stretch (can and wants to), motivate (can, won't), re-fit or exit (can't and won't).
- Performance-appraisal interview
- A structured, two-way, behavioural and future-focused feedback meeting that separates diagnosis from blame and ends in an agreed, measurable plan with a follow-up date.
- Managing up
- Deliberately building a productive relationship with your boss by understanding their goals, pressures and working style and adapting your own behaviour — not flattery, and not trying to change the boss.
- Mutual dependence
- Gabarro & Kotter's framing of the boss relationship: two fallible people who need each other, so you build mutual expectations, dependability, honesty and good use of the boss's time.
- Difficult-boss types
- Dillon's recognisable patterns — micromanager, absentee/hands-off, credit-stealer/bully, incompetent boss, former-peer — each handled by adapting your approach to the boss's underlying need, not by confronting the trait.
- Supervisor support
- A boss's provision of encouragement, resources and advocacy; positively correlated (about 0.58 corrected) with subjective career success.
- Subjective career success
- Your own satisfaction with your career progress, distinct from objective success such as pay and rank; it is the outcome supervisor support most strongly predicts.
Managing Performance & Your Boss FAQ
Is this module examinable even though it falls in the break?
Yes. There is no workshop, but the two readings are required and the module is fully examinable in the closed-book multiple-choice final. Because students under-prepare it, it is often good, high-yield exam material — don't skip it.
What is the most-rewarded idea in the whole module?
Diagnose before you deliver. Work out why performance is short — ability, motivation, resources or situation — before you blame anyone or run a feedback meeting. The most common misdiagnosis is reading a 'can't' (ability or missing resources) as a 'won't' (motivation), which sends you to the wrong intervention.
How should a good performance-appraisal interview run?
Diagnose the cause with evidence, then open a two-way conversation that invites the person's view, describes observed behaviours and their impact (not personality), locates the cause jointly, and ends in a measurable plan with confirmed support and a follow-up date. Lead with warmth and keep it future-focused.
What does 'managing your boss' actually mean?
It is treating the boss relationship as mutual dependence: understand their goals, pressures and preferred working style, understand your own, and adapt your behaviour to build mutual expectations, dependability and honest early warning of problems. It is a career skill you build on purpose, not manipulation.
How do you handle a difficult boss such as a micromanager?
Adapt your own approach rather than trying to fix them or going over their head. A micromanager is usually driven by a need for control or reassurance, so you over-communicate — frequent proactive updates and early flags — to build the trust that lets them loosen control. Escalating or withdrawing worsens the relationship.
Is this page official or affiliated with the University of Sydney?
No. This is an independent AskSia study guide to help you revise BUSS5080. It is not produced, endorsed by, or affiliated with the University of Sydney. Always confirm current assessment weights, dates and rules against your official unit outline and Canvas site.
Exam move
Prepare this module even though it has no workshop — its low-effort reputation is exactly why it earns easy exam marks. Memorise the sequence diagnose then deliver then plan, and keep the four roots of underperformance (ability, motivation, resources, situation) on one line with the can't-versus-won't cue, because that is the distinction examiners test. For the managing-up half, hold two things: the mutual-dependence idea (understand the boss's goals, pressures and style, then adapt yours) and the five difficult-boss types, each paired with an adapt-not-fix response. Remember the ~0.58 supervisor-support figure with its direction (positive) and its label (subjective, not objective, career success). When you drill multiple-choice questions, practise eliminating any option that escalates, withdraws or tries to change the boss — the survivor is almost always the one where you adapt to reduce the boss's anxiety or fill the gap their style leaves.
