How to Create a Good Relationship with Your Boss

Your relationship with your boss is an important relationship. It may mean the difference between getting ahead in your chosen career or even being able to negotiate working conditions that suit you.  You don’t have to be best friends with your boss, but developing a good relationship with them makes life easier for you and them. Here are some tried and tested ways to make your relationship with your boss a good one:

Do Your Job Well

Ultimately, doing your job well is one of the best ways to develop a good relationship with your boss. The better you do your job, the less there is for them to worry about. Even if you are not close outside of work, by doing your job well you are more likely to earn their professional respect which is what matters at the end of the day.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

It can be easy to pick fault with your manager or think “I wouldn’t do things that way if I were the manager” for example, but putting yourself in their shoes will help you to be compassionate and understand the situation they are in better.  Being a manager may not be easy. You have to make difficult decisions at times and the buck stops with you.

Be Proactive

A proactive employee makes everyone’s life easier. As well as doing your job, look for new opportunities to exceed expectations (you don’t have to be a kiss-ass, just enthusiastic about your job)!

Be Positive at Work

Being positive makes your work easier for you and those around you in the workplace.  Be open to challenges and to finding a way around the different hurdles you encounter in your job. It is much easier to work with someone with a “can-do” attitude than someone who is always finding fault or excuses about why things can’t be done.

Set Boundaries

A common problem for many people is finding the ability to say no or to set boundaries with their boss. The ability to set boundaries with your boss is very important for your relationship with them, as well as for your job satisfaction and stress levels. Being able to communicate what you need means that you are less likely to feel at the mercy of the job and your boss’s needs. Most bosses will respect you for being honest and clear about what you can and can’t do. This doesn’t mean you need to be inflexible or unwilling to pitch in during an emergency and requires some discernment. Your boss’s needs are of course important, but so are yours and the ability to find a balance between both is vital.

Bio: Jen Smith is a Life Coach, Mentor & Writer. She has tried many career paths herself and now helps others to achieve their goals and dreams. 

Comments

[Jennie]

When students graduate from Westwood and find employment, many are navigating the professional landscape for the first time. In some cases our graduates don't have a strong network of family or peers to talk to about job pressures and how to create the type of relationship you talk about in this post. We appreciate the tips you share and especially agree with the suggestion to be proactive. It's competitive out there and it's our job to make sure our graduates make themselves irreplaceable to their employers.