What is he trying to accomplish in this role?

If your boss is any good at all, he has an agenda; he’s trying to accomplish something big in his role. This is a good thing; you want him to have a vision for the department. If that vision aligns with yours, everything’s great. But sometimes his mission is hard to interpret and that’s when you need to dig deep to study his true intent.

Start by determining his philosophical views about your function or discipline. How does he see the field? Which experts does he respect and follow? Is he a traditionalist, or does he want to take the function in a new direction? Get a fix on how your boss looks at his profession. Once you know his point of view, determine how it aligns with yours. Do you share the same beliefs about the future of your chosen field?

Amanda is an expert in software development, and was struggling with her boss about the approach to take in developing new products. To clear the air, I brokered a meeting between Amanda and her boss that focused exclusively on their philosophical visions. By taking the conversation up a notch to their broader world views, we were able to find some common connection points. When it comes to interpreting the moves your boss is making, it’s important to first understand how he sees his craft; this will explain a lot of his initiatives and behavior.

The second thing you should study is his mandate, as you perceive it. Given his philosophical view of the profession and the challenges facing your organization, what is he trying to accomplish in this role? What’s his mission? Most great leaders want to make their mark; they want to do something meaningful. How would you articulate his main objective? Write it out as a statement: “In this role, my boss is trying to ___.”

Once you’ve got a sense for it, ask for validation. Force a clear understanding of what he’s trying to accomplish by asking: How would you describe what you’re trying to do in this role? This is one time I recommend seeking direct clarification with your boss. Chances are, he’s proud of the mission and will want to share it. The motives behind the mission will be based on his philosophical view and the current organizational challenges, and you need to know what this mission will require of you.

Finally, you need to figure out where you can impact the strategic direction. If your views differ from his, where and how can you influence and shape his world view? What’s the best way to debate or discuss an alternative course of action? Juanfaced this challenge with his boss, who was the head of Human Resources. Juan was the director of talent management, but was unable to come to agreement with his boss on the subject of high-potential talent. In this case, the boss didn’t believe in telling high-potential leaders they were top talent; he believed in keeping the list a secret. Juan held the opposite view just as strongly; he believed top-talent leaders should be told they were being groomed for higher levels. By probing the origins of this belief, Juan learned the boss had had a bad experience in his previous company with publicizing the high-potential list, and was reluctant to try it again. Once Juan understood his influencing obstacle, he built a strong case for why things would be different in their current organization.

Figuring out how your boss sees your profession is an important step to figuring out his behavior. Your boss is going to chart a very specific course when it comes to executing his role. He is grounded in a particular world view and is on a mission to accomplish a specific set of goals. Your job is to study both to determine how you best fit into those plans.