boss

How To Make Your Boss Happier Without Straining Yourself

Sep 17th, 2008
by admin.
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How To Make Your Happier Without Straining Yourself

By: Don Dewsnap

Most people who manage other people have one thing in common: they are busy. They not only have their own work to do, but they have to make sure the people they are managing are doing what needs to be done. Nothing makes them happier than having confidence in their staff. This is where you come in.

Doing a job well not only benefits your boss. It also benefits you, the company as a whole, and everyone the company deals with, from customers and vendors to investors and the community. You might not think of your job as important, but it is, probably in more ways than you have any idea about. This is true for any and every job.

This fact is the first of the simple principles anyone can apply toward doing a job well: realize your job is important. Because it is. If you don’t agree, or don’t see its importance, pretend it is. Treat it as if it is important. It won’t be long before you will discover that it really is, if you apply the other principles outlined below. No job is “just a job.”

The second easy principle to apply is to think. One thing that makes a boss tear his hair out is when his juniors do silly things that a moment’s thought would have prevented. When a new situation comes up, and it gets treated the same way as a normal situation, problems will result. Problems which could have been prevented by thinking. Problems which will take extra time to solve, and maybe land on your boss’s desk. Problems he doesn’t need and should not have.

Nine times out of ten, you have enough knowledge to figure out the best way to handle the situation correctly, if you think about it. You may have to consult with other people in the company whom this situation will affect. You may even have to make a decision, after you have looked at the choices.

In the other one time out of ten, when you don’t know what to do or don’t have the authority to do it, make your boss’s and your life easier by gathering all the information, making it clear, and suggesting a solution. Then your boss can look it over quickly, and will probably say “Go ahead” or make some minor revision. You will be a hero for coming up with a solution and not wasting his time.

The third easy principle is to be an adult. Whether you are sixteen or fifty-six, you can act as a child or as an adult. A child will wander from one activity to another, leaving his toys strewn about. A child will spend time talking in class instead of studying. A child will complain about little things and say mean things about other children. A child will do things an easy way instead of the right way. A child will avoid an unpleasant task, and hope it goes away. Bosses don’t need or want children for juniors. And really, being a child can only make your job harder.

A manager will recognize and appreciate all three of the above qualities in a junior, whether he comments on them or not. If cutbacks have to be made, the above qualities will be taken into account. When pay reviews roll around, they will play a part. Maybe your boss isn’t the best at giving praise, but if you treat your job as important, think through problems to prevent mistakes and save him work, and act as a responsible adult, he will notice. Any manager who doesn’t notice such things doesn’t usually remain a manager for long.

Author Resource:-> Don Dewsnap has spent years studying quality and its principles and applications. Now he has put his knowledge into a readable, useable book: Anyone Can Improve His or Her Life: The Principles of Quality. Read an excerpt or buy this book in paperback or as an e-book at Principles-of-Quality.com or as a paperback at any online bookseller.

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Relationship with Your Boss

May 28th, 2008
by admin.
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How to Build a great Relationship with Your ?

Everyone knows how important it is to have a good relationship with their boss, but not everyone knows how to go about doing this. There are many things you can do that are completely legitimate and won’t make you look like a suck up. A good relationship with your boss can make all the difference to how you feel about your job. A supportive, approachable boss is able to get the best out of their team – you feel like you can talk to them about a problem you have, ask for a morning off to go to a school play or that they will listen to your reasons for wanting a pay rise at your annual review.An judgemental boss is quiet the opposite – they make you feel as though your personal life is of no importance, you should be grateful for the job and that you do not deserve for your career to progress. Of course, there are plenty of bosses in between.Take the time to get to know who your boss is. Many times bosses will have one on one meetings with their staff members to go over their workactivities they enjoy outside of work. Also, keep an ear out when you are in the office. If you hear your boss speaking of activities they enjoy outside the office make note of them in your mind. This does not mean you need to “chime in” on their private conversations. Instead bring these subjects up when explaining a situation you are experiencing in the office with them. It’s amazing how you can use outside subjects when discussion concerns you have in the office or when asking for assistance. By using subjects that they have a common interest in you will develop a common bond with your boss.Let`s look at some different ways to build a good relationship with your boss and how to maintain it.
Use these meetings to listen to your boss. When they explain things you might pick up on items that interest them. These items can include what they expect of their employees as well as

Try to give your Best
OK, this may seem like a simple one but it is very rare that the worst performer in a team gets on well with the boss, or certainly not for long.Get to a level where you have a good relationship with your boss and stay on course. Be consistent in everything you do to continue building the relationship you have with your boss. If show signs of change, your boss will likely be turned off by that.

Always Arrive on Time
Again, this is pretty obvious, but don’t forget that however well you perform in your job, if you are late all the time, or even some of the time, you wont be taken seriously.

Never Gossip about Your Boss
If your boss considers you to be one of the team that spends more time hanging around the water cooler than actually working, they are unlikely to be your biggest fan.If you have anything negative to say about your boss, don’t talk about it with your coworkers. Instead, wait for work to end and talk with your non-coworker friends about it. It is very likely that anything negative you say about your boss will eventually reach his/her ears. This can make an enemy out of someone in a higher position than you which can severely hurt your career and reputation.

Don’t Be A Yes Man
Being a yes man will make your coworkers and boss despise you. A yes man often comes off as insincere. Also a boss will never treat a yes man as an equal, which greatly limits future advancement. Being a yes man is bad, but that doesn’t mean you should constantly disagree with your boss. Be professional and have the confidence and smarts to agree and disagree with your boss when the time is right.

Ask For Advice
If you have a work or career related problem, ask your boss for advice. Asking for advice will show your boss that you trust him/her and you value his/her opinion. If you act on the advice you get, follow up and tell your boss what happened (assuming the advice had a positive effect). Validating your boss’s advice will make him/her feel better and will strengthen the relationship you share.

Manage your Boss expectation regarding quality and quantity of you work.
Make sure you can produce results on the projects you are working on. If you ever get stuck ask around for help until you are able to complete a given task. This will give you a reputation of being a hard worker and will give you a chance to interact with your coworkers in a positive way. Once you have a good grip on the job requirements and have a solid relationship with your boss in place that is built on trust and mutual respect, you can begin to manage your boss’s expectations regarding the quality and quantity of your work. This is an essential damage-control tactic if you are to avoid many of the pitfalls that are essentially the result of poor assertiveness skills. Learn to tell your manager that you are overburdened (only when you are of course). Use words like ‘we need an additional resource’, ‘I have to prioritize’, ‘I have a more urgent deadline’, ‘ I don’t want to compromise the quality of the project’ to communicate your own time schedule and your existing workload. Always have a list ready of projects you are engaged in and their priority so your manager can more easily plan the projects he sends your way. You should focus on being ‘productive’ rather than merely ‘busy’ so your manager learns to respect your prioritization skills and general work aptitude.

Keep everything Professional
It doesn’t hurt to spice things up every now and then at the office, but for the most part, keep it professional. Don’t plaster your walls with comics or Internet jokes and make sure your attire is always appropriate. Don’t be too casual at work because work is supposed to be taken seriously. If you take a more casual approach to work, your boss may think you are uninterested in your career.

Be Prepared before presenting yourself in front of Boss
If you attend a client visit or presentation with your boss, make sure you have your laptop loaded with a copy of the presentation, have back ups printed and have the client’s phone number in your mobile in case of hold ups.You must have reliable information before presenting to your boss, this imprint the good Impression on your boss as well as on your job.

Feedback
Your boss has a boss and deadlines too, so learn to make his life a bit easier by sending some reverse positive feedback his way when you can. Avoid the false superficial kind of schmoozing but DO compliment or thank your boss whenever you can – on something he taught you, a course he sent you to, a project he sent your way, a project he didn’t send your way, a tip he gave you or some other form of constructive criticism he made, a resource he assigned you, a deal he landed, a client he made happy, a new idea, a presentation he made etc. He will appreciate the flattery if it is genuine and delivered professionally. He will also be more inclined to help you in the future if you are appreciative of the steps he takes to guide and promote you.

Make good use of Time & Resources
The boss has limited time, energy and influence. Every request a subordinate makes uses some of these resources so it’s wise to draw on these resources selectively. Many managers use up their boss’s time over relatively trivial issues.
No doubt some subordinates will resent that on top of all their other duties they also need to take time and energy to manage their relationships with their bosses. Such managers fail to realise the importance of this activity and how it can simplify their jobs by eliminating severe problems. Effective managers recognise that this part of their work is legitimate and know the need to establish and manage relationships with everyone on whom they can depend including their boss.

Conclusions:
An Important but most disregarded aspect of leadership is your relationship with the boss, as she/he would determine your success/failure as a leader. Effective managers take time & effort to manage not only their relationships with their subordinates but also those with their bosses. Managing your team as a leader is as important as managing your boss. Having a good relationship with your boss can help you have a more successful career and life. There are many more ways to improve the relationship between you and your boss. We encourage you to try as many as you can.