How to find a common language with your boss

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Your career success depends a lot on the relationship you develop with your line manager. You can be a 100% workaholic, stay up late in the office, overfulfill plans and hand over work three days before the deadline, but all this zeal will come to naught if the boss simply does not like you or are in constant conflict with him. What to do, the human factor has not yet been canceled.

Let's take a look at what actions (or lack thereof) will help you improve your relationship with your boss.

Be wiser

But not in the sense that you must certainly defeat the boss in an intellectual battle. Quite the opposite is true. Show wisdom in not proving the boss is wrong with foaming at the mouth. But “playing the fool” is also not worth it. Measure is important in everything, and even more so in the relationship with the boss. If you think it is your sacred duty to tell your boss about his possible mistake, do it as tactfully as possible, and then give him time to think about what was said.

Do not flatter

Undisguised flattery can be seen immediately, and an ingratiating person is automatically perceived negatively. You don't even need to think about it - you can hardly win the boss's favor if the only thing he will hear from you is laudatory odes to his professionalism and kind soul. Such "worship" can be pleasant to the narcissistic narcissist, but the adequate person will quickly see through your selfish motives.

Show the wonders of diplomacy

Even if colleagues try to drag you into some squabbles and gossip, do not give in. The bosses do not like "mouse fuss" in the workplace. Be friendly both with colleagues and with management. Do not enter into conflicts with either one or the other. And even more so - do not gossip about the boss, do not talk about him dismissively and sarcastically. Who knows - what's on the mind of the one with whom you just discussed the boss in a bad way?

Each boss has his own "fad".

Stick to the rules

Each boss has his own "fad". Someone hates being late, for someone office style is the only acceptable style of dress, and the word "jeans" is unknown and scary, but someone needs to be kept informed of absolutely all matters, even the most insignificant ones. What to do, now you have to comply with these "points". Otherwise, it's very easy to make an enemy in the face of the boss.

Don't go to extremes

Some employees feel that they need to catch the eye of their boss as often as possible, bombard him with their ideas and suggestions, so that he can see how hard they are working. In fact, this is not the case - this behavior is annoying. But if the tactic of "I am a lot" is not suitable, then the tactic of "I am not enough" is also not the same. If you deliberately avoid communicating with your superiors (say, ask a colleague to go and sign papers for you), then the supervisor may get the impression that either you are not working at all, or you are ignoring him. The “golden mean” rule works flawlessly here as well.

Don't give up on overtime …

Bosses are people too, and nothing human is alien to them. There are, of course, "special cadres", but most of them are family men like you, with wives and husbands, children and plans for the weekend. But if the debt calls, then the boss works on the day off. Therefore, you should not take with hostility his request to work on Saturday. Sometimes (and quite often) circumstances do require it. It is better to build a relationship with your boss based on understanding and mutual assistance than once "win back" a long sleep for yourself on Sunday, and then think about how to establish contact.

… but do it wisely

It’s one thing to go out on a day off, because you really need to, and another thing is to regularly (and often pointlessly) rework without receiving any "gratitude" for it. Don't let the boss sit on your neck. It would seem that this advice is not able to help you improve your relationship with your boss. But in fact, it all depends on how you present your displeasure: if with tantrums and screams, there will be no success, and if as calmly and with dignity as possible, you risk finally resting next weekend.

Don't let the boss sit on your neck.

Much really depends on your relationship with your boss. Therefore, follow our advice, trying to find a common language with the chef. And if you absolutely cannot do this and the relationship does not work out in any way - do not despair. Work is not for life. It can be changed.