It’s probably the midyear review cycle at your work. Like all Type As, you have likely exceeded your boss’ expectations on your projects and work so far. However, you may be frustrated that, despite excellent work, you didn’t receive the top rating or even the next big project. At year-end, you may not have received a big salary increase. You are asking, “what gives?” Why am I working so hard, doing such great work, but not getting the recognition and feedback I deserve? What do I need to do to impress my boss?
You probably know that the key to a great review (and general career progression) is going to be to do your work well, which is “table stakes.” In other words, you cannot underdeliver on your work and still get a great review if you impress your boss with other behaviors.
Yet, you know that that is not enough. Impressing your boss may not get you a better review, but it will certainly get you assigned to the next big project. Or, consideration for another role in the company that you are interested in, etc, etc, etc. The bottom line is that impressing your boss will help your career.
So, now that we know why it’s important to impress your boss, how can you do that?
6 Tips to Impress Your Boss
1. Be pleasant
Just be a nice person! You would be surprised how many people are just difficult to work with and, more so, to manage. No one (including managers) wants to come to work and be with difficult people. You don’t want to make your manager feel like he or she wants to avoid you.
So, how can you be pleasant at work?
Simple manners, such as “please” and “thank you” when you ask your boss (or anyone) for something. Smile when you walk down the halls and say “hi” to people.
While that’s basic, other ways to be a pleasant employee include:
- Clean up after yourself at the kitchen
- Keep your desk clean
- Don’t start rumors or spread bad news about someone
- Get along with everyone. Yes, everyone! Don’t make your boss deal with an interpersonal issue you have with someone at work
- Follow the rules, but don’t be a cop if others don’t
- Perhaps bring in muffins, cupcakes or cookies once in a while
In summary, treat others the way you would like to be treated. That goes for ALL others. You should treat everyone the same. It rubs me the wrong way when I learn that someone is nice to me but treats our administrative support staff poorly. Or, anyone else really.
2. Do not surprise your boss
In every project, you are bound not to have something go right. You may experience a delay, or burn through your budget too fast, or cross-functional teams are angry. As a manager, I know that. I’ve hired you — not to avoid issues, as they are inevitable — but to navigate them effectively.
So, please let me know if you’re running into trouble. Bosses do not want to be surprised by any issue, or have someone else find out about it first.
The last thing a manager wants is to find out about an issue and feel they could have helped prevent or mitigate it if they had only known. That makes me angry, and it’s hard not to be mad at my employee.
So, let your boss in on what you’re worried about. Be prepared to talk through your plan. Even if it doesn’t get better, I don’t suspect your boss will be upset if they knew in advance.
3. Be honest
You want (and need) your boss to trust you. Do not make them doubt their faith in you. Ever. Trust with anyone at work (primarily your boss) is critical to your success and future at the company.
If you made a mistake, own it. Tell your boss (and other relevant people). Say what happened, what the impact is, and what you learned. That’s all.
If you’re upset about something your boss did, tell them (be sure to see this post on How to Speak Up at Work).
The last thing you want is your boss to think you’re lying. If you want the benefit of the doubt in the future, then be honest.
4. Be solutions-oriented
If there is a problem at work, don’t just complain. Well, maybe complain for a few minutes (I do believe in the power of venting), but quickly stop yourself. Then voice your frustration factually and….propose a solution.
For example, if everyone piling work on to you, then say something like, “Requests for my time exceed my ability to meet deadlines. I propose to list all my projects and rate by urgency and priority and will propose the top 5 to proceed with. I’ll get that to you by Friday.”
If there is one mantra to live by, it’s “No Drama!” Your boss will be impressed by your professional maturity.
5. Be ambitious within reason
You certainly should expect to have career progression at your company, especially if you perform well. If you’re not getting time and attention to your development, then you should be concerned.
However, more often I have seen employees have unreasonable expectations for their development. For example, after being newly hired and delivering 1 get project, they expect to be promoted to manager of the team. That’s not realistic (at least at larger companies). And it’s frustrating for the manager.
I’ve seen that ambition and the behavior that results from it ruin careers. We recently had someone leave for another company who was a top performer, but thought he deserved a role two levels above his current role. He reacted strongly to being turned down and, after that, no one supported him for any progression because his poor behavior.
In summary, put the business needs first, and your career progression will follow. That is not to say, you don’t need to promote yourself and do things like network. You do. However, if you’re only serving yourself with your work, it will not go unnoticed by your boss.
6. Be open to feedback
Ugh! So many talented people get dragged down by being resistant to feedback. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given feedback to someone and they reply, “That’s not true” or “You are not good at that either.”
I just sit there and shake my head. You are ruining your career. Even if you disagree with the feedback, you do not do yourself any favors by fighting the feedback.
When you get feedback, the ONLY thing you should say is, “Thank You.”
As a leader, I get a LOT of feedback from my team. I’m too critical. I’m don’t spend enough time with them. The meeting I ran wasn’t effective. I don’t give them exciting enough work. All I say is, “thank you for sharing that with me.”
I’m not saying I agree with them. I could disagree, or I could be angry about what they said. Doesn’t matter. All I say is “thank you.”
If you disagree with the feedback, see this post about getting a bad review. Check that out. However, in many cases, just say “thank you” and move on.
These are very simple tips to impress your boss. However, they are much harder to live by day by day. If it gets hard, just imagine the better position, compensation, and projects you will receive if you adhere to these 6 tips! If you’re still looking for more tips, this post from Money Crashers has some additional great tips on How to Impress Your Boss!
How about you? I’d love to hear what tips you have for impressing your boss in the comments below!
If you liked, this post, be sure to check these ones out:
- How to Say NO to Your Boss
- Career Tips You Need to Ignore
- How to Improve the Top 4 Leadership Traits
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