I’ve been lucky, I’ve been well employed for most of my 21 years since college graduation. In that time, I have worked for many diverse individuals. Heaven knows, they have been a very unique group of people! Regardless of the boss’s personality and work style, one thing held true – I had to do what I could to make them look good. After all, they were signing my paycheck! Below are my five secrets to managing my boss, and therefore, keeping him or her happy.
Give your boss regular updates, even if he or she doesn’t ask for it. Yes, this is just another form of “communication”. Some bosses will demand regular updates, while others don’t. But all bosses want to know that progress is being made, especially on high-profile projects. Don’t save bad news or problem issues for later. The sooner you let your boss know there is a problem, the faster the two of you can work together to come up with a solution. I know, this can be scary, and some bosses don’t take bad news well. But it’s better to get the issue out on the table. Trust me, you don’t want to wait until the day a project is due to tell your boss that the deadline was impossible to attain!
Be prepared when you meet with your boss. When you meet with your boss, have an agenda or a list of items you want to discuss. Don’t be afraid to let your boss see the list. There’s no shame in being organized. You have a better chance of getting time during the meeting to discuss your issues and ideas as well as his. If meetings with your boss tend to be impromptu, just keep a running list on your desk so you always have it ready when you get pulled into her office.
While many of us wrinkle our noses at the concept of ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’, it is a fact of life. An important component of managing your boss is to make sure that important things they need to do for your projects get done. Notice I said projects. Constant follow ups on what end up being personal gains will annoy your boss and possibly undermine how your boss sees you.
Make your boss look good and, if you can, make their peers look good also. If you constantly make your boss look good they will keep you with them as they rise. If you occasionally make their peers look good (and they realize it) you are positioning yourself to be seen as someone who’ll make anyone look good and thus become a coveted employee. If they end up with an opening that could be a promotion for you, you’ll be a shoe in if they already know and respect you.
Be grateful for the job and be respectful of the burdens your boss is carrying. All to often all we see is a person who’s making more money than us and, perhaps, we are a bit envious of them. We start expecting them to be more intelligent, more mature, and more subject to our needs. But think of the impact you will create when you let your boss know that you are happy to have your job and respect them as a person. I’m not advocating being some sort of overly optimistic happy Harry or to kiss up to your boss at every turn. No it’s a quiet gratitude and gentle respect I’m advocating.
I assure you that if you follow these five steps not only will you see greater success in the business world than do those who don’t, you’ll end up being happier as well. And that’s just goodness no matter how you look at it.