Managing Up

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on July 21, 2008

Here is a sound career tip no matter where you are on your career ladder: Focusing on your relationship with your boss is a smart idea that pays off. It is a fact of business life that if you take care of your boss, as he succeeds, you will succeed too. When your boss is happy, you’re happy. And when your boss is unhappy…well, you know the rest.

Some simple but often overlooked ways to maintain this all-important relationship include:

•Understand your boss’s needs
•Be aware of how your boss likes to do things and adapt to his methods
•Know your own needs
•Communicate regularly one-on-one with the boss
•Work on the relationship just as you would work on any other

Keeping your boss truly happy is about much more than just the ever-present kiss-up factor. It is about letting your chain of command know you are present and can be relied upon.

Mallary Tytel
President and Founder
Healthy Workplaces
Sioux Falls, S.D.