Ask Debby: I Want to Approach My Director

Question:

I’m looking for some advice on how to approach my Director and discuss my need to schedule a recurring one on one meeting with them.  The usual response I receive is that “I’m too busy right now”… and then its put off until later, which often affects my performance and response time to inquiries.

Answer:

Try to catch your manager in their office at a time where you can pop in, but still get their attention. Ask them if they have a moment to speak to you. If they say no, then you can let them know it’s important and ask when they would have time later today.

Once you have their attention let them know that you would like to set up a weekly meeting with them and the reasons why. Let them know how you feel this time would be of benefit to your effectiveness by enabling you to confirm and clarify any issues or questions and that this time would also enable you to regularly update your manger on where you are at with your tasks and projects that relate to them.

Be direct to let them know how strongly you feel. Be prepared to speak to examples of where having this time would have benefited previous situations that maybe didn’t go as well as they could have.

Be prepared to be honest with them on how important you feel having that dedicated time together on a regular basis is for you. Once you set those weekly meetings, ensure both of you stick to it and don’t let them get cancelled without a time being rescheduled.