The boss: a friend or foe?
Often times when we’re at work, it pretty much seems as though our boss is the enemy. After all, who is the one who makes us stay back after office hours, calls us back to work on weekends, criticises each and every little thing that we do and at times, even yells at us from across the room?
But think again.
It is this very boss that serves up your salary slip every month. This very same person could land you a promotion, or even approve an internal transfer within the company so that you get where you want to go. At crucial moments, it is also the boss who stands up for you and shields you from accusations from external parties who seek to find fault with your department or team for some unfounded reason.
So, this boss of yours... whose side is he or she really on?
I believe it is really up to us to make our boss our friend... or in some cases, our foe. This is because I think it is how we think and act around the boss that determine whether they will help or hinder us. Of course, there are those tyrant types (think ‘The Devil Wears Prada’) that really do breathe down our necks and make themselves a deliberate pain. But most of the time, it is really up to us to build a good rapport with our boss.
“How?” You may ask.
Here are some pointers you may want to keep in mind:
Sincerely get to know your boss
News flash: your boss is really a human being. Forget what you saw in the movies or what haunts you in your nightmares. That body you see seated at the Manager’s desk... it’s a human body. And that means your boss has feelings and interests too, just like you. A key to understanding your boss better (and therefore, getting along well with him) is seeking to find out what makes your boss tick. This is very easily done. In fact, all you need to do is be alert: look out for what your boss does, what interests him and what he likes to talk about. Having gathered as much information as you can in this way, you can then use it to your advantage when interacting with your boss. You can use any common interests both of you may have as a means of explaining tasks or issues you face at work to your boss.
Open up
Instead of eyeing your boss warily and keeping a cold distance from her, maybe you should try opening up to her instead. When it comes to being a friendly person, it takes one to know one. This doesn’t mean you have to be your boss’ best friend, but at the very least you should be on good terms. Share with them honestly about your work and your thoughts about it. Seek their advice on matters that you find challenging. In short, think of her as your personal coach in the workplace. If your boss encourages small talk, don’t hesitate to share a bit about your family or what you enjoy doing on weekends. However, do keep to your boundaries – it is not professional to get too intimate with your boss. A good guideline would be that you shouldn’t share with your boss anything that you wouldn’t want printed in the company newsletter.
Show appreciation
Many of us are in fact blessed with bosses that genuinely seek to care for their employees. This kind of bosses willingly go the extra mile for those under their care and sometimes give of themselves generously for the benefit of the staff. For instance, visiting employees when they are sick, personally covering their expenses when they are in financial difficulties or buying their team a lavish meal. Whenever you are the lucky recipient of such goodwill, do remember to thank your boss for his or her kindness and to show that you appreciate what has been done for you. Often a simple ‘thank you’ after your boss has paid for the meal for example goes a long way.
Make effort to communicate
One of the main causes for things going sour between employers and their subordinates is unmet expectations. This problem can be easily eradicated by making it a point to communicate with your boss often. Talk to your boss about what his or her expectations of you are so that you can make deliberate efforts to live up to it. Whenever you are given a new task, think thoroughly through the process that is required, and ask for further clarification if necessary, preferably even before beginning any work on it. Provide timely updates to your boss on your progress so that he or she knows what is going on. That way, even if you do need an extension of time for a deadline, it won’t come across as too much of a shocker since your boss was aware of the challenges you were facing all along.
I hope you catch what I’m trying to say here. Before we start pointing our fingers and blaming our boss for making our work experience such a lousy one, we should ask ourselves if we have been doing our part.
What do you think? Do you agree that it is up to us to build a good rapport with our bosses? Or perhaps you feel the boss really is the enemy – if so, why? Do drop me a comment or two. I’d love to hear your views.
But think again.
It is this very boss that serves up your salary slip every month. This very same person could land you a promotion, or even approve an internal transfer within the company so that you get where you want to go. At crucial moments, it is also the boss who stands up for you and shields you from accusations from external parties who seek to find fault with your department or team for some unfounded reason.
So, this boss of yours... whose side is he or she really on?
I believe it is really up to us to make our boss our friend... or in some cases, our foe. This is because I think it is how we think and act around the boss that determine whether they will help or hinder us. Of course, there are those tyrant types (think ‘The Devil Wears Prada’) that really do breathe down our necks and make themselves a deliberate pain. But most of the time, it is really up to us to build a good rapport with our boss.
“How?” You may ask.
Here are some pointers you may want to keep in mind:
Sincerely get to know your boss
News flash: your boss is really a human being. Forget what you saw in the movies or what haunts you in your nightmares. That body you see seated at the Manager’s desk... it’s a human body. And that means your boss has feelings and interests too, just like you. A key to understanding your boss better (and therefore, getting along well with him) is seeking to find out what makes your boss tick. This is very easily done. In fact, all you need to do is be alert: look out for what your boss does, what interests him and what he likes to talk about. Having gathered as much information as you can in this way, you can then use it to your advantage when interacting with your boss. You can use any common interests both of you may have as a means of explaining tasks or issues you face at work to your boss.
Open up
Instead of eyeing your boss warily and keeping a cold distance from her, maybe you should try opening up to her instead. When it comes to being a friendly person, it takes one to know one. This doesn’t mean you have to be your boss’ best friend, but at the very least you should be on good terms. Share with them honestly about your work and your thoughts about it. Seek their advice on matters that you find challenging. In short, think of her as your personal coach in the workplace. If your boss encourages small talk, don’t hesitate to share a bit about your family or what you enjoy doing on weekends. However, do keep to your boundaries – it is not professional to get too intimate with your boss. A good guideline would be that you shouldn’t share with your boss anything that you wouldn’t want printed in the company newsletter.
Show appreciation
Many of us are in fact blessed with bosses that genuinely seek to care for their employees. This kind of bosses willingly go the extra mile for those under their care and sometimes give of themselves generously for the benefit of the staff. For instance, visiting employees when they are sick, personally covering their expenses when they are in financial difficulties or buying their team a lavish meal. Whenever you are the lucky recipient of such goodwill, do remember to thank your boss for his or her kindness and to show that you appreciate what has been done for you. Often a simple ‘thank you’ after your boss has paid for the meal for example goes a long way.
Make effort to communicate
One of the main causes for things going sour between employers and their subordinates is unmet expectations. This problem can be easily eradicated by making it a point to communicate with your boss often. Talk to your boss about what his or her expectations of you are so that you can make deliberate efforts to live up to it. Whenever you are given a new task, think thoroughly through the process that is required, and ask for further clarification if necessary, preferably even before beginning any work on it. Provide timely updates to your boss on your progress so that he or she knows what is going on. That way, even if you do need an extension of time for a deadline, it won’t come across as too much of a shocker since your boss was aware of the challenges you were facing all along.
I hope you catch what I’m trying to say here. Before we start pointing our fingers and blaming our boss for making our work experience such a lousy one, we should ask ourselves if we have been doing our part.
What do you think? Do you agree that it is up to us to build a good rapport with our bosses? Or perhaps you feel the boss really is the enemy – if so, why? Do drop me a comment or two. I’d love to hear your views.
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