Managing your boss isn't a matter of "apple polishing" or playing politics. It involves working together to generate the best solutions for you, your boss and your company.

Many talented people are stuck in the old paradigm of expecting their boss to manage them. They take a passive, reactive stance, waiting for direction and support. They may complain about a bad boss, but do little to turn things around themselves. They don't know the small but essential steps they can take to establish a productive dialogue. Don't fall into this trap. Don't assume that your boss knows what you need in order to do your job well. Don't assume that your actions are in sync with his or her expectations and priorities. Stay in touch. Communicate. Check things out.

Your Most Critical Working Relationship

Your boss links you to the rest of your company. When your relationship works well, your priorities will be consistent with your company's goals and you'll be able to advance more rapidly in your career.

If you want to influence the outcome of your relationship with your boss, you have to take responsibility. Waiting for your boss's direction can ultimately hurt your chances for advancement.

Action Steps

Here are some action steps you can take RIGHT NOW to build a more productive and rewarding relationship with your boss.

• First Identify Your Boss's Priorities - Your boss's opinion about you is critical. By learning and attending to her priorities and goals, you become more valuable. This doesn't mean that you need to agree with everything your boss says. When properly handled, disagreements can build your credibility and gain you greater support.


• Ask WIIFH? - Before you present your ideas to your boss, ask, "What's in it for him?" Think about how your activities further your boss's goals and priorities. When you can link your activities to benefits for your boss, you are much more likely to get support for what you need.


• Under-Promise and Over-Deliver - Always be conservative in your commitments. There's a natural tendency to want to impress and please others by making big promises. However, no matter how much you actually accomplish, if you don't meet the expectations you set, you can't help but damage your reputation. When you deliver or
  Should You Buy A Cheap Computer Desk?
  Cheap computer desks are generally used or second-hand computer desks. Information about cheap computer desks is available in classified ads in the newspaper. It is also available in websites like e-bay, Amazon, Tigerdirect, Argos or in specific websites related to furniture. Though they are used, cheap computer desks can be in pretty good condition. Second-hand furniture shops, “repo” men and flea markets are also good places to look for cheap computer desks.Cheap computer desks can also h
  e a passive, reactive stance, waiting for direction and support. They may complain about a bad boss, but do little to turn things around themselves. They don't know the small but essential steps they can take to establish a productive dialogue. Don't fall into this trap. Don't assume that your boss knows what you need in order to do your job well. Don't assume that your actions are in sync with his or her expectations and priorities. Stay in touch. Communicate. Check things out.

  Your Most Critical Working Relationship

  Your boss links you to the rest of your company. When your relationship works well, your priorities will be consistent with your company's goals and you'll be able to advance more rapidly in your career.

  If you want to influence the outcome of your relationship with your boss, you have to take responsibility. Waiting for your boss's direction can ultimately hurt your chances for advancement.

  Action Steps

  Here are some action steps you can take RIGHT NOW to build a more productive and rewarding relationship with your boss.

  • First Identify Your Boss's Priorities - Your boss's opinion about you is critical. By learning and attending to her priorities and goals, you become more valuable. This doesn't mean that you need to agree with everything your boss says. When properly handled, disagreements can build your credibility and gain you greater support.
  
  
  • Ask WIIFH? - Before you present your ideas to your boss, ask, "What's in it for him?" Think about how your activities further your boss's goals and priorities. When you can link your activities to benefits for your boss, you are much more likely to get support for what you need.
  
  
  • Under-Promise and Over-Deliver - Always be conservative in your commitments. There's a natural tendency to want to impress and please others by making big promises. However, no matter how much you actually accomplish, if you don't meet the expectations you set, you can't help but damage your reputation. When you deliver or
    How To Price Your Soaps For Maximum Profit
    If you ever thought of making and selling your soaps, You must read this article. We'll talk about how to correctly price your soaps. This is very important, as you need to know exactly how much a bar of soap costs you to make. Pricing is extremely important for any business to maximize profit. Why? Simple. If you price your soaps too low - you end up loosing money you should be making. If you price your soap
    ationship

    Your boss links you to the rest of your company. When your relationship works well, your priorities will be consistent with your company's goals and you'll be able to advance more rapidly in your career.

    If you want to influence the outcome of your relationship with your boss, you have to take responsibility. Waiting for your boss's direction can ultimately hurt your chances for advancement.

    Action Steps

    Here are some action steps you can take RIGHT NOW to build a more productive and rewarding relationship with your boss.

    • First Identify Your Boss's Priorities - Your boss's opinion about you is critical. By learning and attending to her priorities and goals, you become more valuable. This doesn't mean that you need to agree with everything your boss says. When properly handled, disagreements can build your credibility and gain you greater support.
    
    
    • Ask WIIFH? - Before you present your ideas to your boss, ask, "What's in it for him?" Think about how your activities further your boss's goals and priorities. When you can link your activities to benefits for your boss, you are much more likely to get support for what you need.
    
    
    • Under-Promise and Over-Deliver - Always be conservative in your commitments. There's a natural tendency to want to impress and please others by making big promises. However, no matter how much you actually accomplish, if you don't meet the expectations you set, you can't help but damage your reputation. When you deliver or
      What Your Yellow Page Ad is Missing (Part 3 of 5)
      You’re had that large display ad for the last three years and it’s appears to be working. At least you get calls and they say they found you in the Yellow Pages. Each year, you change a word or two, try a new border and last year you even added a map. Yep, life is good and it’s working pretty well. That nice digital photo of your carpet cleaning van is right up to date and takes up about a third of your ad. But heck, it’s worth it. It’s got your neat logo plastered on the side and you even went to
      rewarding relationship with your boss.
      • First Identify Your Boss's Priorities - Your boss's opinion about you is critical. By learning and attending to her priorities and goals, you become more valuable. This doesn't mean that you need to agree with everything your boss says. When properly handled, disagreements can build your credibility and gain you greater support.
      
      
      • Ask WIIFH? - Before you present your ideas to your boss, ask, "What's in it for him?" Think about how your activities further your boss's goals and priorities. When you can link your activities to benefits for your boss, you are much more likely to get support for what you need.
      
      
      • Under-Promise and Over-Deliver - Always be conservative in your commitments. There's a natural tendency to want to impress and please others by making big promises. However, no matter how much you actually accomplish, if you don't meet the expectations you set, you can't help but damage your reputation. When you deliver or
        How To Write Ads That Get Response
        Your print ads should do more than just get noticed. Their job is to bring you business, and if all they do is lay around and attract attention, they’re no different from the lazy employee who does nothing all day but look busy.You wouldn’t give him more hours in the hopes that one day something productive will happen. And you shouldn’t keep running those “name recognition” ads in the hopes that one day sales will happen, either. You should fire those non-responsive ads and get some that pu
        ur activities further your boss's goals and priorities. When you can link your activities to benefits for your boss, you are much more likely to get support for what you need.
      
      
      • Under-Promise and Over-Deliver - Always be conservative in your commitments. There's a natural tendency to want to impress and please others by making big promises. However, no matter how much you actually accomplish, if you don't meet the expectations you set, you can't help but damage your reputation. When you deliver or over-deliver on your promises, you build credibility in the eyes of your superiors.
      
      
      • Don't Focus Solely on Problems - Yes, your boss is busy. But just because you're lucky to get a few moments, doesn't mean you should focus only on difficulties. Make sure your regular meetings include discussions of positive performance.
      
      
      • Offer Solutions - Never take a problem to your boss without offering possible solutions at the same time. This gives you an opportunity to showcase your problem-solving ability. It pays to look for ways to develop your creativity and view problems from different angles.
      
      
      • Learn to Solicit Feedback Effectively - It's important to get regular feedback from your boss. If you don't, you risk being surprised at your performance reviews. However, the way you go about soliciting feedback is important and depends on your boss's personality and style.

      Everything you achieve in your career, you will achieve through relationships with others. And no relationship can have a greater impact on your career than your relationship with your boss.

      Today, relationship strategies rule the world. It's up to you to learn and apply them, to maximize your performance and achieve the results you want.