By Kristen Greening
The benefits of being on the good side of your boss are obvious when it comes to the work you do and your work wellbeing. But how do you actually make your boss like you?
These simple and easy to follow steps aren’t about ‘sucking up’ or manipulating anyone, they are general rules that you should always follow in the workplace that can lead to being in your boss’ favour.
Ask When You Do Not Know
Never assume anything, including how things should be done. When you’re not clear – you should always ask. You might think that this can cause you to look bad or incompetent, but if you do something wrong, you will look much worse.
Take Initiative
Asking when you do not know the answer to something does not mean that you shouldn’t take initiative. In fact, you should learn to take initiative when the need arises or when the opportunity presents itself. Is there something that can be done better? Or have you discovered something that needs to attended to? Ask your boss if you can take charge and make sure you see through the initiative you have taken.
Be An Ever-Present Help
Be there whenever help is needed. Is there a project that may need more hands? Take the initiative to ask for a role. Your boss will appreciate the extra help. Even if your help is not needed, your boss will appreciate that you’re willing to chip in.
Make Your Boss Look Good
This doesn’t mean you need to take blame for things that go wrong. It can be something as easy as preparing the background to a meeting they are attending. Make sure your boss is in-the-know about issues in the workplace, and give them updates about the progress of these issues.
Stay Out Of Trouble
Do not get involved in office politics. Don’t gossip or speak badly about other colleagues – be they in your team or otherwise. Not only will you suffer for your own words and actions, your boss will too. Create good working relationships across departments. When you go to your boss with challenges facing you, always bring two to three solutions and state your preferred solution.
Be Like A Dry Sponge
Soak up the working culture around you. Learn the working styles of your colleagues and how you can find competitive advantage. Observe how personnel dynamics work in the office – who can get things done and who has the most influence?
Pick Up Cues Of How Your Boss Works
Learn, observe and ask how your boss likes things done. The best person to ask is your boss or people closest to him/her. Learn from other’s mistakes when they work with your boss. People will complain when the boss reprimands them, and that is the best time to learn what doesn’t go down well.
No Job Is A Bad Job
People like to pick and choose jobs or projects assigned to them – they tend to believe that some projects have more value than others. To a certain extent this is true. But it is also true that bosses know who is sincere in helping. No assignments are ‘bad’, especially if your boss has specifically asked you to do them. Every project is an opportunity to learn and if you accept the project gracefully, your boss will undoubtedly notice.
Don’t Try To Get Away With Things
When you make a mistake, come clean and don’t try to cover anything up. Also, don’t try to get away with doing as little work or putting in as little effort as possible. Some people are always trying to finish work with the least possible effort and at a passable rate only. Strive for excellence in everything that you do – your boss will certainly notice the difference.
Be Early
This one seems like a no-brainer, but it is integral to being liked and respected by your boss and fellow co-workers. Not only being punctual but also putting in the extra effort to turn up to work early shows that you are hard-working and dedicated. Also, when you leave for the day, let your boss know you are leaving and ask if anything needs to be attended to before you leave or first thing tomorrow.
Just like anything in life, you need to be sincere in your actions, or others will see through you. Having your boss on your side can be a positive thing, but what really matters in staying true to your morals and working hard at your job.
