One of the most effective ways to succeed at work is to get in your manager’s good graces. By ingratiating yourself with your boss, it increases your odds of earning a promotion, raise, bonus and accolades. Cultivating a strong relationship with your manager takes time, effort and consistency. The key is to consistently deliver high-quality work, exceed expectations, over-deliver on results and demonstrate your competence, smart decision-making and reliability.
Managing Up
Managing up entails being the most effective employee you can be, being an asset to both your boss and your company. To get ahead in your career, you must start by anticipating your manager’s needs. To successfully do this, you must always be one step ahead by taking the initiative. For instance, before your boss heads into a meeting, ensure that they have all the necessary documents and information to crush their presentation.
If your manager is overwhelmed, offer to take on additional responsibilities that can help ease their workload, even if it means spending time working at night or on weekends.
It’s mission critical to effectively communicate so that you and your manager are both on the same page. Learn their preferred communication style and adapt yourself to it. This is called “mirroring,” in which you match a person’s conversational style, cadence and tone.
Respect their time. Be punctual, highly prepared and in the zone during conversations. Make your boss look good by doing whatever it takes to help support their success. Don’t come to them with only problems. Instead, try to find ways to make their job easier by offering solutions.
It’s okay to admit when you don’t know something. If you are unsure of how to address a challenge, acknowledge that you’ll need some time to figure things out. If you can’t find an answer, seek out others within the organization to crowdsource ways to effectively deal with the matter.
Always act as a responsible lieutenant. Avoid co-workers who love to gossip and spread rumors. Instead, position yourself as a sober, serious and positive influence.
Make sure to align your goals with your boss’ mission. Ask smart questions to better understand your manager’s goals and priorities, so you’ll know what to do.
It’s also important to simultaneously manage your own career growth. Ask your supervisor how you can grow and develop within the organization. If there are certain areas that you’d love to be involved in, speak up and volunteer for it.
Demonstrate loyalty when it looks like your manager is being attacked. You want to show that you have their back. Don’t harbor secrets, and only speak fondly of your boss in public. Try to collaborate to achieve mutual goals and outcomes.
A great way to be noticed is by executing your responsibilities exceptionally well. Pace yourself. Before taking on additional tasks, focus on excelling at your core job description.
Machiavellian Tactics To Curry Favor
Become the go-to person known for getting results. Volunteer for challenging tasks and deliver exceptional results.
Become a power broker by understanding your employer’ goals, priorities and challenges. Network with your colleagues, especially your superiors. Getting noticed by the higher-ups at your company can help you build valuable relationships within the organization and bolster your reputation, which can be beneficial for future opportunities.
Become a masterful influencer by offering your suggestions in a way that benefits your boss and the company. Subtly flatter your boss’ strengths and accomplishments. However, avoid excessive flattery, as it can quickly backfire.
Don’t undermine others or try to make colleagues look bad while you are working to become indispensable; otherwise, you’ll create enemies. Most importantly, although you are being dependable, don’t allow yourself to be exploited. Ensure to establish boundaries, so you don’t get taken advantage of.
Source: Forbes
