5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship With Your Boss

5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship With Your Boss isorepublic.com Your boss is a huge asset of knowledge to you, and it’s important to cultivate a positive relationship through which you can learn about the company and how to do your job better. Here are five ways to help improve your relationship with your boss. 1. Be up front When starting a job, be up front about your time commitment. Tell them weeks in advance if you are going to need to take time off rather than a few days before. This establishes a sense of trust and consistency between you and your boss. Let them know in person, and if they agree to give you the time off, follow up with an email so there is a written record of it. By staying ahead of the game and taking initiative to ask in advance, your boss will notice your responsibility and perhaps be more lenient to your requests. 2. Set up monthly meetings Your boss is a fountain of knowledge. They have likely been working at your company for a while, or at least in the field for a long time to get to where they are. This makes them incredibly useful to you as a resource and connection. Set up short, monthly meetings with your boss to discuss the job force, to learn more about the company and its history, to ask about their professional past, and to get their advice on any projects you are working on. This shows your boss that you really care about your job and want to do the best you can. It’s also a great way to keep your boss in the loop of what’s happening on the lower levels of the company. 3. Take constructive feedback When your boss gives you feedback, don’t fight them on it. Take the constructive criticism and use it to improve your project. Their feedback is vital to your progression and growth as an employee, and you should take into account any bit of advice that your boss gives you. Ask for constructive criticism don’t just wait for them to offer it up. Your boss knows what they are doing or else they wouldn’t be the boss. Take in their feedback and seriously consider if their changes are the right move for the project. Have an open mind about it! 4. Learn your supervisor’s preferred communication methods Communicating with your boss can happen in many different ways, so take the time to learn what methods they prefer. Do they prefer texts over emails? Unplanned drop bys or meetings planned a week in advance? Everyone has different communication methods that they like best, so understanding these preferences is an important way to build a strong, communicative relationship with your boss. You don’t have to guess about their habits asking them how they prefer to be contacted shows that you are considerate and willing to accommodate them. Even if your preferred communication methods are different from theirs, stretch yourself to use different avenues when communicating with them. 5. Be authentic Nobody likes a suck-up. Don’t try and change yourself in front of your boss. The facade can only be held up so long, not to mention your co-workers will pick up on it very quickly. Being yourself is the best way to cultivate any relationship. Don’t try and mold yourself into what you think your boss wants you to be like. You were hired for a reason; take the value that you inherently hold and capitalize on it instead of trying to contort it into something that you think it should look like. Similarly, stay out of office drama. Avoid gossiping about your boss with other employees because you never know who is listening. Your boss doesn’t have to be the big scary person in the glass office. They are human too and, at one point in their life, they were in your position. They aren’t unreachable if you take the time to connect with them. A good relationship with your boss will be invaluable to you in your job and jobs to come. If cultivated well, a relationship with your boss can continue to be fruitful even after you’ve moved on from their company.