A successful business owner started complaining to me yesterday. Then he couldn’t stop.

His main beef was his managers’ poor budgeting skills. He says his managers do a fine job with direct costs related to a project budget. They provide detailed estimates for concrete expenditures: consultant fees, raw materials, equipment purchases, etc.

But he’s vexed by his managers’ inability to understand indirect costs such as overhead and other administrative expenses that keep the company running.

“Some money is hard to allocate specifically to a project,” he told me. “But it’s real money. It adds up. When a manager pulls five people into a meeting to get status updates on a project, there’s a cost to that.”

I’m not a budget maven. But here’s one thing I’ve learned about budgeting from my experience as a manager: When I wasn’t sure how to proceed, I’d ask my boss, “What do you see as the key to making this budget work?”

I’d use the answer to guide my efforts.

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A recent Wall Street Journal article (April 5, p. B5) reported that CEOs are spending more time wandering the halls talking to employees. As a result, these execs are listening directly to workers’ gripes and taking corrective action.

That’s wonderful. It’s important for CEOs to boost their visibility. Mingling with employees helps a busy leader nip morale problems in the bud and foster better communication.

The article gave three examples of CEOs who took steps to address an employee’s complaint. You’re left to conclude that if the CEOs didn’t leave their foxholes, they would remain in the dark about employees’ concerns.

This raises an obvious question: What about the middle managers?

Part of a manager’s job is to listen to employees—and relay their ideas, anxieties and perceptions to senior executives. A good supervisor calls his or her boss’s attention to employees’ most significant insights or concerns.

While it’s great that CEOs hold “town hall” sessions and drop by employees’ cubicles for friendly chitchat, the top brass should not have to rely on random encounters to learn what their workforce really thinks.

It’s up to managers to do that.

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I recently advised a supervisor, Jim, whose boss (Eric) questioned the poor performance review that Jim gave to a technical employee. As it turns out, the technician had an excellent history of evaluations from his prior supervisors.

Jim told me, “Eric seems to think I have a personal vendetta against my employee. But I’m just doing my job. I evaluate everyone’s performance consistently.”

The relationship between Jim and Eric grew testy and distrustful. It became clear to me that neither of them tried to clear the air. After I urged them to meet and discuss the situation in a calm, non-accusatory manner, they did. As a result, they broke through the assumptions that prevented them from seeing eye-to-eye.

There’s a lesson here. When your boss is unhappy with you, probe to learn more. Don’t get defensive or indignant. Focus on identifying the boss’ core concern. Withhold judgment until you’re sure you have worked through assumptions and developed a full, fair understanding of the issues at hand.

Ill will may linger. But it’s far more likely that you’ll begin to appreciate the boss’ perspective and take steps to address the most critical concerns.

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