How To Connect With Your Boss

By Perminus Wainaina

What kind of relationship do you have with your boss?

Is having a good relationship with your managers important?

Two years ago, I was interviewing Kelvin for a supervisor position at a manufacturing company.

During the interview, I asked him why he wanted to leave his current job. He said he did not get along with the company’s General Manager; as a result, Kelvin was willing to take on a job that paid less than his current one.

What kind of relationship do you have with your boss? You might have a cordial relationship, or you might even be great friends. The kind of relationship you have will undoubtedly affect and influence your work.

For instance, there are cases of unhealthy relationships between an employee and the boss. This relationship can often strain the working connection and even lead to stress in the workplace.

On the other hand, you might have a healthy relationship with your boss that you feel you enjoy more privileges that other employees don’t get.

However, this should not warrant you to take advantage of the situation. Remember your supervisor is trying to grow the company as well as advance their career. As such, they could still fire or reprimand you, in spite of your relationship.

The kind of relationship you have with your boss plays a key role in how satisfied you are at work, and to an extent, how you progress in your career.

How do you form a meaningful connection with your supervisor?

If you wish to connect with your boss, you have to work on how well you relate.

Here are a few tips that will help you relate better with your boss.

1. Demonstrate your drive and initiative

When an employer is hiring, they are looking for a professional who’ll perform the tasks allocated, and go the extra mile.

When you show initiative at work, you’ll grab the attention of your boss.

For example, I know a telesales executive who works for one of the largest communications company in Eastern Africa. she started off on a three-month contract.

The job involved marketing one of the services to existing customers. Each day, they were tasked to make 70 calls, and have at least 25 customers subscribe to the product.

She used to call at least a hundred people and ensure more than 40 had subscribed to the service.

This caught the attention of the supervisor.

When the contract was over, she was given a fulltime job –the only one in a team of 19 people.

She was driven to perform her tasks to the best of her ability. This led to the supervisor noticing her. The connection she formed with the supervisor landed her the job.

At work, be proactive, look for areas you can help in. This will surely get the boss to notice you, thus beginning a meaningful connection.

At meetings, for example, you can show initiative by actively contributing and giving ideas on how to grow your department or the company.

Here are 3 more tips on how to connect with your boss.