Seven Ways to Impress Your Boss

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By Penelope Trunk
Bankrate.com

You could save your company $10 million, but if your boss doesn't know, it's like it never happened. So you need to manage up -- systematically make sure your boss perceives that you are doing a great job.

Here are seven ways to manage up:

• Know your boss's priorities. If your boss is a numbers person, quantify all your results. And know which numbers matter most to him. All numbers people have their pet line items. If your boss is a customer-is-first kind of guy, frame all your results in terms of benefits to customers. Let's say, though, that you are working on a project that is impossible to frame in terms of the customer. Then ask yourself why you're working on it for a customer-oriented boss. It probably isn't a high priority for him, so it shouldn't be a high priority for you.
  
  
• Say no. Say "yes" to the things that matter most to your boss. Say "no" to everything else and your boss will appreciate that you are focused on her needs. Remember that your boss doesn't always know everything you've got on your plate. So when he asks you to do something that you don't have time to do, ask your boss about his priorities. Let him know that you want to make sure you finish what is most important, and this will probably mean saying no to the lesser projects.
  
  
• Talk like your boss. If your boss likes e-mail, use it. If your boss prefers voicemail, then phone in your updates. Convey information to your boss in the way she likes so that she's more likely to retain it. Be aware of detail thresholds, too. Some people like a lot, and some people like none. A good way to figure out what your boss wants is to watch how he communicates with you. He's probably doing it the way he likes best.
  
  
• Toot your own horn. Each time you do something that impacts the company, let your boss know. Leave a voicemail announcing a project went through. Send a congratulation e-mail to your team and copy your boss, which not only draws attention to your project success, but also to your leadership skills. Whatever the mechanism, you need to let your boss know each time you achieve something she cares about.
  
  
• Lunch with your boss. If all things are equal, your boss will promote the person he likes the best. So go out to lunch and talk about what interests him. Get her on your side by asking her for advice on something about work. If you are very different than your boss, work hard to find common ground in your conversations. Everyone has common ground if you hunt hard enough.
  
  
• Seek new responsibilities. Find important holes in your department before your boss notices them. Take responsibility for filling those holes, and your boss will appreciate not only your foresight, but also your ability to do more than your job. (The trick, of course, is to make sure you do not shirk your official job duties while taking on more.)
  
  
• Be curious. Remember to make time to read and listen. Then ask questions when they are not expected. You will make yourself more interesting to be around, and you will elicit fresh ideas from everyone around you. Your boss will feel like having you on the team improves everyone's work, even his own, and that, after all, is your primary job in managing up.

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