5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Relationship with Your Boss
It's all too easy to see your boss as a scary and distant entity. It can feel like your boss is lurking in the background, waiting to fire you when you least expect it.
But the truth is that your boss is a person just like you. Taking steps to improve your relationship with your boss, or at least establish effective communication with your manager, can be a huge benefit to both your career and your peace of mind.
Below, we’ll discuss five tips for a positive work relationship with your boss.
Tip #1: Have Reasonable Expectations
Learning how to get along with your boss is an excellent goal, but you want to make sure your expectations are realistic and reasonable. If you currently have a miserable dynamic, your goal shouldn’t be to become their best friend; it should be to ease tensions and improve communication.
No matter where you’re starting, keep in mind that there’s a fine line between building rapport and kissing up to the boss. Make sure that your gestures are authentic and not a drastic departure from your past behavior.
Finally, your objectives for building a relationship should be professional in nature. Having a friendly dynamic is one thing, but creating a gossip-over-drinks bond can actually backfire. Your boss may come to see you as unprofessional, or they may start to favor you in a way that will alienate you from your colleagues.
Tip #2: Build Solid Relationships with Everybody
If you build strong (or at least functional) relationships with everyone in the office, your boss will take notice, and they will respect you all the more.
This means rising above the trite office gossip and focusing on improving the general workplace atmosphere. Take control of your job and respect those around you.
Tip #3: Seek Advice
Asking for advice and feedback is a great way to increase trust and begin a trend of more effective communication with your manager. Ask respectfully at the right time, engage with their feedback without getting defensive, and show that you value your boss’s opinion.
It’s helpful if you go to them for specific feedback as opposed to vague generalities. Rather than simply asking, “How can I improve?” you should narrow the focus to a specific topic or situation. But don’t ask for help where you don’t need it – you’ll come across as disingenuous.
Tip #4: Celebrate Your Boss’s Accomplishments
A little goodwill can go a long way when you’re winning someone over. Take note of your boss’s personal or professional milestones and make time to recognize their achievements. It can be as small as a “congratulations.”
You don’t need to wait for big events to have the same effect – everybody likes to be thanked for the little things. Did your boss offer helpful insight? Stand up for a colleague? Give you a small bonus or treat?
Saying “thanks” for specific gestures is a great way to not only get on their good side but also create positive reinforcement for the kind of relationship you want to have.
Tip #4: Communicate Efficiently
Communicating better with your boss does not mean communicating more. Your boss, like all humans, would rather not be bothered by every triviality on the job.
When you speak to your boss, make sure to do so in a professional and direct manner. Don't beat around the bush. Respect their time.
Choose the best communication method for any given topic. Some things are best handled as an email or a text, others require a meeting, and some things can be handled just as a comment in passing.
You should also pay attention to what types of communication get the best results – everyone is different. You might love bullet lists, but your boss might prefer tackling one thing at a time or vice versa. Make their life easier by leveraging their preferred communication methods.
Tip #5: Step Up Your Game at Work
An effective way to improve relations is by showing your value as an employee, and nothing is more impressive to your boss than taking the initiative to improve your abilities and gain new skills.
This doesn’t have to involve a huge, overnight transformation. Little improvements add up over time, and there are so many ways to learn and grow. Whether you’re reading blog articles like this one or taking online courses, you’ll be making progress toward a better future.
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