The trouble with bosses is that they can have such a massive effect on your life. They can decide to promote you or fire you. To a great extent, your future is in their hands.
Making a good impression becomes vital. Shine in their eyes and you will rise. They will favour you with the best development opportunities, your performance reviews will be a foregone conclusion and as for pay? Well, they will do what they can.
A bad impression with the boss, well, where are you goingto work next? Before you rush off and find an alternative job, you’ll probably have to endure no end of stress and heartache before you are finally put out of your misery.
No wonder so many try so hard to impress the boss!
There are significant dangers though…
- How will your colleagues react? They may see you as sucking up to the boss and they could make life difficult for you.
- Do you think your boss doesn’t know what you are doing? Of course he does. Research shows that senior people are suspicious of offer for help from those below them — they speculate on the motives behind the kindness.
- Often in the struggle to impress, people miss the plot. They fail to see what is really important as they jump up and down in front of the boss. Not only is that stupid, but it makes you look stupid too, which defeats the purpose.
So, where does that leave you? Still wanting to make a great impression. but what next? Here are a few ideas to get you started…
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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- Make sure and get a clear focus on the agenda of your boss. What are his priorities? Why is he stressed? What’s getting him excited right now?
- Think about how you can make a genuine and positive contribution to his priorities. Be realistic about your own abilities. It is fine to stretch and be ambitious, but saying you can do something to make an impression and then not being able to live up is not good practice!
- Carefully notice how your colleagues are behaving. What are they doing to get noticed? What seems to be an acceptable way of doing it? What type of behaviour might be totally unacceptable to them?
- Look for evidence of what your boss is responding positively to. Whom is he listening to? Why does he favour some of your colleagues? What upsets him?
- Do an audit of your own skills. Be honest, where are your weak points? It is important to be self-aware so that you can use this to demonstrate humility and/or ensure you don’t land yourself in a difficult position.
This thinking should be starting to drive you towards the answers to the following questions…
- What can you do to make a good impression?
- What can you do to make a bad impression? So you can avoid doing it!
- What might land you in trouble with your colleagues?
- How can you make a better impression than your colleagues?
- What are you going to do now?
In my experience, it is always worth talking this through with a good friend, mentor or coach. Their additional experience and different perspective could save you and make it much easier for you to do the right thing.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..
💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)
👉 [Subscribe & Take the Assessment]