Few professional relationships are as important as the one you have with your boss. You should not only want to be on the same page with them but you should also want to stand out. It can be hard to do that when there are dozens of other employees who are also trying to make the right connections. So what methods can you use to work better with your boss and stand out?
In our guide below, we attempt to answer this question by presenting you with the top ten ways to work better with your boss. Each approach we present will help strengthen your image and relationship with your boss. Additionally, we will address common questions like why it’s a good idea to have a working relationship with your boss in the first place. So let’s dive right in!
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Why is a Good Working Relationship With Your Boss Important?
Your boss is your boss. What does it really matter if you have a good relationship with them or not? Well, it actually matters a lot.
Below we’ve listed three of the biggest reasons why a working relationship with your boss is important:
- It makes for a healthier workplace: When good communication is happening, you have a much healthier workplace.
- It makes setting boundaries easier: It’s really hard to set boundaries with a boss you hardly know or are afraid to talk to. With a good relationship however, it’s just part of the game.
- It makes your chances of moving up increase: If you have no relationship with your boss you could be the best worker ever and they still might not know it. If you have aspirations within your business then it is pivotal that you communicate with your boss regularly.
A good working relationship with your boss both opens new doors and makes your current work life smoother. There’s really no reason not to. Next we will dive into the ways you can actually make this happen.
10 Ways to Work Better With Your Boss
The following then approaches should help you create and maintain a healthy working relationship with your boss:
1. Make Yourself More Valuable at Work
Bosses, managers and higher-ups in general are always looking for that one person who steps up to the plate when no one else will. That person who they know they can call on in a pinch and things will turn out okay. If you can be that person you will add value to yourself as an employee.
2. Cultivate a Positive Work Ethic
Showing initiative is great, but if you’re grumbling the entire time you’re doing it, that’s not so great. You really want to show that you have a positive work ethic. You’re willing to work as much as it takes to get the job done, but you also have a positive, get-it-done attitude while you’re doing it.
Bosses listen to complaints all the time. When they have someone who really knocks it out of the park on performance and also keeps spirits high, they will be impressed.
3. Set Healthy Boundaries
Setting healthy boundaries not only protects you from being taken advantage of, but it also earns you the respect of a good boss. A good boss understands that their workers have boundaries and they respect them. When those boundaries are laid out in a respectful, straight-forward manner, the boss will know that you are a respectful, straight-forward person.
It’s important to note that the key word here is healthy. Healthy boundaries are what you want to set. Don’t create roadblocks where none need be or it could actually backfire on you and have the opposite effect where your boss may assume you’re just difficult or prickly.
4. Make Yourself Available
While boundaries are important, you should also strive to make yourself available as much as you can while maintaining a healthy balance. When your boss knows you’re always just around the corner, ready to go, they will start thinking of you as a key player on their team.
5. Request More Feedback
Until you can read your boss’s mind–in which case maybe you should be the boss–you won’t know exactly what they want from you until you ask.
Requesting feedback does two things. Firstly, it shows that you are ready, willing and able to learn and adapt to the challenges of your job. Secondly, it lets you know in more specific detail exactly what your boss wants to see. Once you know that you can run with it and really make a major impression.
6. Make Your Growth Mindset Known
Let your boss know that you are ready, willing and able to grow. When you constantly ask questions like how can you do your job better, it shows a growth mindset.
A person with a growth mindset can start out beneath someone who is already good but doesn’t have one. However, the person with the growth mindset will eventually surpass the natural because they don’t stop improving. By doing this you make yourself an investment for your boss.
7. Set Time to Communicate With Your Boss
You need to set up times to communicate with your boss regularly. The more they see you engaged, the more they will view you as a major asset.
8. Have Appropriate Personal Conversations
Don’t be afraid to ask your boss how life is going for them. The more you can have personal conversations with your boss the more they will view you as a human being they are rooting for as opposed to just another employee.
With that said, don’t go too far and start asking about divorces and what not. You should never come across like you’re prying into the saucy details of their secret life. That will have the opposite effect you want.
9. Go Out On a Limb
Taking initiative is one of the best ways to show your boss you mean business and to strengthen your working relationship. Try to identify a problem and solve it, all without being asked.
This is another place where you want to be careful as some problems require the boss’s oversight. Make sure what you jump on is okay for you to do with your position.
10. Tell Your Boss What You Really Want
Letting your boss know what your goals are is a great way to communicate that you are both invested in your job and willing to grow. If you want to be one of the higher-ups one day, don’t just hold it in. Make it known and then show with your performance that you’re ready for the position.
So Really, How Do You Work Better With Your Boss?
Working better with your boss doesn’t have to be too difficult. You really just need to approach the problem from a couple different angles. Along with above skills the one with emotional intelligence will do even good when it comes to make a good connection so here is list explaining benefits of emotional intelligence.
Make sure you show initiative, communicate frequently and make your goals known. If you do these things alongside our other eight approaches you will have a better relationship with your boss in no time.
