Impress Boss With Skills, Not Flattery
What’s the shortest route to success? A good relationship with your boss, experts say. But turning your boss into your ally isn’t about flattery.
“Some employees try to brown-nose their bosses, saying things like, ‘That’s a brilliant move,’ or ‘I wish I had thought of that,”’ says Roger Fritz, a management consultant in Naperville, Ill., and author of “How to Manage Your Boss” (Career Press, $9.95). “Ultimately, managers see through favor-courting, and the employees are worse off than if they’d never tried it.” The better approach is to make yourself indispensable. So here are six strategies to help you turn your supervisor into an ally:
Be aware of the big picture. Your boss’s behavior may fluctuate according to business pressures. So make it your business to understand the bottom line as well as what tough issues are facing your employer and their effect on your department. And then conduct yourself accordingly.
“Most workers don’t pay any attention to what’s going on outside their work station,” says Nancy Miller, managing principal of Human Resource Management Systems Inc., a consulting firm based in Glenview, Ill. “But it is important for you to know whether the company is involved in a potential merger or an important customer has been lost. You need to know why the bottom line is driving certain decisions and affecting your boss’s actions.”
Adjust your style. Your boss will feel more comfortable with you if your work style is compatible with hers. Be mindful of how she communicates and how her stress level affects her attitude and decision making.
“When your boss is under pressure, talk more softly and ask questions instead of making overt statements,” Miller suggests. “If she needs to think things through carefully, don’t throw a bunch of ideas at her at once. If she’s under stress and needs to see that you’re getting things done, work more quickly. And don’t push her when she’s angry or hurt. You won’t win if you do.”
Identify your boss’s dislikes and weaknesses. You want your manager to be dependent on you, so take care of tasks that she loathes or recognizes as a weakness. “For example, if your boss isn’t good with details, you become the detail person,” Fritz says. “Bosses are selfish about who becomes a subordinate ally. They want individuals who are consistent performers and make them look good in the eyes of their peers and superiors.”
Understand priorities. “You can be busy with a variety of projects, but if they’re not priorities for your boss, you won’t be considered a great employee and you won’t get credit for your accomplishments,” Miller says.
Unclear about what your boss expects? Schedule a meeting to clarify goals and expectations. Don’t wait until your next performance appraisal to learn that you’ve been allocating too much time to a minor aspect of your job.
Record your accomplishments. It’s important to let your boss know about your contributions without appearing like a braggart. Miller recommends keeping a factual record of your achievements and discussing it with your supervisor throughout the year.
“You want your boss to be aware of what you’re doing because when it comes time for your annual appraisal, he may not remember all of your contributions,” she says. Plus, by pointing out all your achievements, you’ll remind your boss how valuable you are to him and the company. “Be very factual, ‘I did X at Y time, and Z was the outcome,”’ Miller says. “If you make it sound self-serving, you risk alienating your boss.”
Be a troubleshooter. You don’t need a Ph.D. in organizational psychology to figure out which employees or clients give your boss a headache. Spare her the hassle of dealing with unpleasant people and situations by smoothing the waters in advance. “When you say, ‘I’ll take care of that with X,’ what you’re really saying is, ‘I know you can’t stand X, so I’ll deal with him,”’ Fritz explains.
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