Wednesday, May 9, 2012

How To Be Your Boss' Favorite

-- Like it or hate it, the person who has the maximum influence on our career path, is the boss.

Yes, the same person who is apparently always right. Fact remains, the boss can do more for our career than our qualifications can. Whatever the boss says about us creates our image in front of the higher management and the other employees. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that making the boss happy and getting in to his good books goes a long way in helping our career move ahead.

What does being the boss’ favorite involve? It doesn’t mean being his personal secretary. It is more a case of being the person your boss would look to, when in a bind or a spot of bother at work. Who said there was something wrong in maintaining a good relationship with the boss at work!

1. Discuss
Discuss any ideas or plans that you may have with the boss. They always approve of people who have ideas and like to come up with something new. Make sure you have thought your idea through and covered all bases of the matter at hand. Being a visionary is an important quality to have at the workplace. Bosses often tend to admire such people.

2. Flatter the boss. NOT
You want to be the boss’ favorite, not to come across as a sycophant. Flattering the boss at every opportunity you get will never work in your favor. Your boss has years of experience over you and knows very well how to read such people and deal with them. Prepare to be thrown all over the place.

3. Hard work
The boss more often than not became the boss, because they worked hard in their earlier days. This is also what they expect from an employee. If you’re not willing to put in that ‘little extra’ work, there’s a good chance the boss is not going to approve of your attitude. A lackadaisical attitude is not going to take you anywhere further in your career.

4. Employee’s got talent
There is a good chance that you may have skills which the boss does not. Portray these skills effectively and let your work speak for itself. Your boss is going to hold you in much higher regard if he knows that you have a valuable set of skills – and only you have it. This puts you in a niche of your own.

5. No surprises please!
While bosses do appreciate new thoughts and ideas, you might not want to surprise him by blowing it up in his face by implementing them without his suggestions or approval - especially if you do this in a meeting or a professional gathering. They like to be kept in the loop and be in the know-how of things. Be a little sensitive about this issue.

6. Stand up
How one goes about standing up to the boss differs from individual to individual. There is nothing wrong in letting the boss know what your thoughts and opinions are related to some matter at work. Some of them actually prefer knowing what is on their employees’ minds. It is not necessary to bend according to the boss’ will every time. Show some courage and you will gain some respect in return.

7. A little extra
It also helps if you are ‘friends’ with the boss. Not every discussion you have has to be related to work. Talk about your mutual topics of interest, current affairs and the likes. This is a great way to build up a rapport with the boss. Interacting becomes much easier and comes naturally once you have ‘that’ bond with your superior.

It remains an untold truth that career success is definitely determined by the boss’ recognition to a great extent. Working hard and being qualified are going to work in your favor only if your efforts are noticed and appreciated. This is an integral part of career growth – and you would do well to acknowledge this and work on it on a constant basis.



By, Hari Das Nair, VP HR  -JBM Group

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