Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens to my historical RateYourBoss survey results if I change employer (and therefore change my email address)?
   

   A: This situation is easily handled. The manager’s portal allows for you to change your contact email address and thereby preserve your RateYourBoss history, and track year-on-year improvement.

2. I am struggling to get other managers in the organisation to buy-in to the RateYourBoss concepts and my team therefore still struggle with cross-organisational working. What can I do?
   

   A: Organisational change is never easy. Some organisations are set with traditional methods, and some apply no method at all for organisational improvement.

   We suggest you engage in a discussion with the most senior manager you have access to. Share with them our web site and have them examine the scientific basis for Requisite Organization. If this person is the CEO, then that is the best you can hope to achieve. Get them to invest in a copy of the Requisite Organization book (or lend them your copy). Failing that, see if you can engage with your HR department. Those that recognise organisational pain will generally be keen to find ways to make improvements.

3. I have conscientiously tried to increase the frequency by which I am performing each of the managerial behaviours, but I am still not getting the results I was expecting. I see a little improvement in the team, but not as much as I would like. What could be going on?
   

   A: Fundamental to the science of Requisite Organization are the concepts of organisational structure and level of work activity. It is possible that there are structural issues in the make-up of your team. This is a complex area to fix, and requires a deeper understanding of Requisite Organization. Our resources page has an eBook on this very topic (for paid members).

4. I view myself as a very good manager. My team gets great results and they all like me. Why would my score be low?
   

   A: Some managers achieve great results through non-scientific means. A congenial or charismatic personality, a sensitivity to employee personality styles, and an aim to please your staff will also contribute to good results. However, the science shows that when things get tough, such as having to manage poor performance, effecting change across the organisation, or handling deeply complex projects, then these methods break down. Requisite Organization has been proven to work in good times and bad, and has always come up with the results to take an organisation to the next level.

   Furthermore, because you may naturally have these characteristics in your own management style doesn’t mean that the other managers in your organisation will. Requisite Organization is a managerial philosophy that can be learned and deployed across the board to ensure that the entire business works to the same management standard and within the same framework. This increases trust and fairness in the workplace.

5. A colleague manager in another department has also undertaken a RateYourBoss survey. She shared her score with me and it is much higher than mine. We both execute with the same level of success in our roles. What could be going wrong for me?
   

   A: RateYourBoss examines the frequency by which your employees observe your Requisite Organization behaviours. Results can sometimes be impacted by changing circumstances in the team, such as new employees who are yet to observe a necessary behaviour. A strong and capable team with a laissez faire leader might collectively produce the results the business requires, independent of the manager.
   

6. My result this year is lower than last year. I thought I would expect to improve my score through RateYourBoss, not have it drop. What could be going on?
   

   A: If you are in a new role, or have a number of new people recently join your team, there will always be the possibility of a drop. This will usually occur through there being no observation (yet) of some of the required behaviours. It is important that you consider changing organisational circumstances such as these and be sure to show strong leadership through continued and frequent behaviours consistent with the Requisite Organization concepts.

   If your score previously was high, then you might find that your continued attention to consistent and frequent exhibition of the behaviours may have been jeopardised by other things going on in the business or with the team.

7. How Does RateYourBoss Compare to Other Common Survey Systems?
   

   A: For many years, capability assessment survey tools have been employed to gauge employee effectiveness. If that employee was also a manager, then the same tool and question set is often used for them also.

   Unfortunately, many untested organisation/management/leadership ideas have been generated in the organisational improvement industries. These have now been around for so long now that they are viewed as 'perceived wisdom' and are tightly held, shared ideas that are tenacious.

   Implementation issues are often raised with some survey platforms, notably with the 360 degree feedback program. Typically, between four and eight people are selected to provide feedback including: peers, subordinates, managers, customers (internal and external) and others. The tool and process is not always ideal:

   • Who decides who will rate the person in question (and why may some get selected over others?)
   • On what basis are the questions chosen?
   • Are the questions asked in a way that allows an unqualified respondent to answer?
   • How does one then take action on the feedback?
   • How is the feedback integrated into a development plan?

   RateYourBoss’s fundamental basis for organisation improvement is about development of managerial leadership. The best assessment of exhibited managerial leadership is through the perspective of the employees; specifically in how they answer the “frequency of behaviour” questions based on Requisite Organization theory.

   Requisite Organization is not magic, but common sense. We wish to make it common practice. The RateYourBoss survey is straightforward to answer without being a management specialist, and the findings are easy to implement. There is no need for debate.