1.Communicate, Communicate, Communicate Especially at the beginning of your relationship -- that is, when either you or the boss is new to the job -- err on the side of giving your boss too much information and asking too many questions.
"There's no such thing as a dumb question," says Marianne
Adoradio, a Silicon Valley recruiter
and career counselor.
"Look at it as information gathering."
Don't keep up the constant stream of communication unless
your boss likes it, though. It's best to ask directly whether you're giving the
boss enough information or too much.
2.Acknowledge What the Boss
Says Bosses appreciate "responsive listening," says John Farner,
principal of
Russell Employee Management
Consulting. When your boss asks you to do something or suggests ways for you
to improve your work, let her know you heard.
3.Collaborate When your boss has a
new idea, respond to it in a constructive way instead of throwing up
roadblocks.
"Be willing to brainstorm ways to get something done,"
says Michael Beasley, principal of Career-Crossings and a leadership and career
development coach.
4.Build Relationships You'll make
your boss look good if you establish a good rapport with your department's
customers, whether they're inside the company or outside. Bring back what you
learn -- about ways to offer better customer service, for
example -- to your boss. This is also helpful for your own career
development.
"Everybody wins in the long run," Adoradio says.
5.Understand How You Fit In Is your
boss detail-oriented, or someone who keeps his head in the clouds?
"The boss's personality is just incredibly important,"
says Norm Meshriy, a career counselor and principal of Career Insights.
Equally important is understanding what your boss wants in
an employee. It may be, for example, that a boss who is detail-oriented will
expect his employees to be as well. But a boss who has no time for details may
actually appreciate an employee who does.
6.Learn the Boss's Pet Peeves If
your manager has
said repeatedly that she hates being interrupted first thing in the morning,
don't run to her office to
give her a project update when you first get in.
7.Anticipate the Boss's Needs Once
you have worked with your boss for a while, you should be able to guess what
information he will want before approving your purchase order, for example.
If you provide it ahead of time, "that's a gold star,"
Farner adds.
8.Think One Level Up You still need
to do your own job, of course. But when managers consider who deserves a
promotion, they look for people who understand the issues that their bosses
face.
9.Open Yourself to New Ways of Doing
Things When your boss comes to you with a new idea, don't simply
dismiss it. If you don't think it will work, offer to discuss it further in "a
mature, responsible, adult-like way," Beasley says.
10.Be Engaged in Your Work Arguing
with your boss over every request is not a good strategy, but neither is simply
shrugging your shoulders and agreeing with everything your boss says. "The
manager would like to see an engaged individual," Beasley says. That means both
showing enthusiasm for your work and speaking up when you see room for
improvement