7 Tips to improve communication with your Boss – starting today
Good communication allows to manage many situations in life smoothly. However, there are certain relationships that deserve extra attention, such as the relationship you have with your boss. Getting the message through to your boss isn’t always easy. For one thing, there’s an imbalance of power there that can make it difficult to be candid. For another, it’s often hard to get the timing right — you’re busy and so are they. I believe it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re prepared to have effective conversations with your boss when you have access to their time. Whether you’re going to discuss an issue about one of your staff members, want to make a strategic decision on a project or you’re unhappy with the direction of your career, communicating efficiently and effectively with the person who has the final say in these issues can be crucial for getting the results for which you’re striving. Some bosses might also be intimidating, while others can be downright frustrating. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to improve your communication with your boss, no matter what kinds of challenges you face.
Get To Know Your Boss
As in all personal and professional relationships, it's important to understand how others communicate.
Everyone has their own set of likes and dislikes, and everyone has their own unique personality types and communication styles. Once you understand their preferences, you can adjust your style and methods of communication to best suit their needs.
Everyone is always looking to improve their communication - especially when it comes to communication with the boss. Your boss is an important factor in your success, the better relationship you have the more successful you will become.
But great relationships are based on having great communication, so what is the best way to improve your communication with your boss? Try these 7 effective ways.
The following 7 tips can help you further improve your communication with your boss:
Understand and develop Your Relationship
It's important to develop a good business relationship with your boss. Find out what he expects and what his goals for the business are. That way you can both be working toward the same goal. It's very important that you not only have a cordial relationship with your boss, but one that feels like you are connected. Make a point to connect- get to know your boss and communicate to them about what you are working on. It, is always good to be interested in a person and to offer support. Your boss is a person who I am sure is working very hard. By showing an interest not just in his role but in them as a person as well, the dividends will grow.
Avoid being too friendly. It's important to be friendly, but only to a certain extent. You're not true friends with your boss. While it may seem like a good idea at first, it can lead to some uncomfortable situations. Your boss might have trouble giving you negative feedback, or your co-workers may develop jealousy.
DON’T GOSSIP. Office gossip is a part of life. There are even some indications that a little gossip at work isn’t all that bad. However, going on and on about your boss with your coworkers is often counter-productive. Sure, it might help you bond with them a little, but it will also drive a subtle wedge between you and your boss, even if they never hear about it. Either way, it certainly won’t do anything to help your relationship or your communication.
Always keep your boss in the loop
No one likes surprises, especially your boss. If something bad happens, you need to be able to communicate it. It's always better to hear it from you, so you can manage the message, instead of your boss finding out about it through someone else. The best relationship you can form with your boss is by keeping them consistently informed.
Don't give alternative facts: It is important to get the facts right. Your boss deserves to know and they deserve to get the facts. Your boss doesn't really need alternative facts or assumptions or opinions. Instead, become the person who your boss can rely on to hear the truth.
Schedule meetings with your boss
Your boss may or may not be scheduling regular meetings with you. Regardless of this, take the initiative to schedule time with your boss if you feel the need. Your boss will know that you're serious about developing your business relationship and that you really care about your job and the company. Be intentional. Be organized and clear about what exactly you want to discuss and the desired outcomes you’re looking to achieve. If you lack clarity and direction during an important conversation with your boss, you could be running the risk of wasting his or her time (and yours), as well as leaving the office more confused than before you ever spoke to them. Don’t leave things to chance when taking your shot at addressing a subject that’s close to your heart. Be intentional about having a productive conversation. Recognize time is precious: Don't waste your boss’s time. Time is precious, it's a commodity. Keep your communication short and specific. When you speak be concise and clear, so your boss can get the most of the time you spend together. When you increase your communication with your boss. you will increase your productivity and your boss's productivity.
Have a solution not just a problem
Your communication with your boss could suffer if you’re routinely showing up with problems without any proposed solutions. Instead, try describing the challenge and then propose a potential fix. Even if you end up going another way, this will demonstrate your professionalism. It will likely improve the overall tone of your communications with your boss, too. Be a problem solver: Find out if you can help your manager with any problems that need attention. While you don't want to step on any toes, your boss will surely appreciate you taking the initiative. Doing so will really give you the chance to stand out. Don't exaggerate or stretch the truth: If you are excited about something don't oversell, and don't overstate it. Else, your boss might just find that it's not worth their while. If its good, be specific and concise and let your boss decide. After all you want to support your boss and not make their job more complicated or difficult. Speak up. In order to achieve a certain result, take ownership of your needs and make requests that will help move things forward. Rather than complaining about what you wish would change, make a decision to enter a problem-solving mode. I have found that thinking ahead and offering solutions to problems puts you into a position of leadership and demonstrates that you truly care about creating a win-win situation for all parties involved. Make requests, not assumptions. In my experience, this makes everybody’s life easier and takes out the guesswork because let's face it: People can’t read your mind.
Ask for feedback
One of the most difficult things about managing others is providing them with feedback. It can be challenging to know how best to criticize someone’s performance. So, you’ll improve communication with your boss if you actually get ahead of this issue and ask for feedback. Your boss will appreciate that you value their opinion and that you’re continually working toward improving your performance. Acknowledge feedback isn't criticism: You may not like it but there is some truth somewhere in the feedback you call criticism. Use the feedback to devise solutions and not to offer blame or excuses. Even if you think you are in the right, your message is not getting communicated to the boss clearly. Fix the communication and turn the criticism into corrective action. All feedback is good feedback. Take it in stride. Maintain patience. Perhaps you would've done things differently than your boss or you strongly feel that one of his decisions won't turn out right. Develop the wisdom to know if you should keep your mouth shut and go with the flow, or if you should politely speak up.
Shift your perspective
You can improve your communication with your boss and feel less frustrated just by putting yourself in their shoes. Imagine what everything is like for them. They likely have more burdens and pressures on their shoulders than you realized. Always honor the chain of command: Going over your boss's head to their boss can be dangerous. Learn to pick your fights, do your best to get your point across in your communication, be prepared to be challenged and honor the consequences. Don't do anything to jeopardize your relationship with your boss by doing something arrogant like going over their head - unless you feel you have to. But then inform your boss, as well, Remember: Your boss doesn't like surprises.
Actively listen
I believe there is one element of effective communication that is more important than talking: Listening deeply to the other person’s point of view. Make an effort to understand where they are coming from, and acknowledge their perspective. In my experience, how the other person feels can have a huge impact on the trust they feel and their relationship with you. Be an active listener, and remain open to their feedback. Always have the willingness to look at things through different lenses, and, perhaps most importantly, respect their expertise. Wrap up, and move forward. Acknowledge and validate your boss's perspective during and after the conversation. I have found that when people know you can put yourself in their shoes, they are more likely to cooperate with you and work things out in your favor. Finally, thank them for their time, and be respectful if the conversation needs to be continued at a later date. Establish and agree on what your next steps will be, and if applicable, schedule a follow-up meeting with your boss to discuss future outcomes. Leave them with a sense of clarity and control, and make sure they understand you’re on the same team rather than someone they have to worry about.
With any relationship, good communication skills are a huge benefit. Strive to work on strengthening these skills every day and it will help your career to flourish. In the end, your positive attitude and willingness to understand others will help you forge stronger, more permanent bonds. Successful communication with your boss can be mutually beneficial. Effective communication is possibly one of the most underrated tools not just in the workplace but also in any other area of life. It can have monumental effects on your relationships, how much people trust and respect you and saves everybody time. It’s a skill worth mastering and the secret to achieving more of the outcomes you desire in a shorter period of time. Next time you head to your boss’s office, follow these steps closely and afterwards take a close look at your results. In all likelihood they will have improved greatly.
In my experience, without communication skills, you might become stuck unnecessarily and feel a great sense of frustration and resentment. I've found that ineffective communication also leaves room for misinterpretation and a lack of direction when trying to take your next steps.
The goal of this framework is to optimize outcomes and ultimately to save time, not only for yourself but also your boss. This topic is part of my course SPEAK UP! The masterclass for women in body language and communication.
Pin this graphic if you liked the post.
Get your free SPEAK UP!
The art of saying NO! guide
Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.
You cannot know everything there is to know about how to get where you want to be in life. While it’s possible to learn the needed skills, this will take time and likely a lot of money. Instead, what if you had someone (or a group of people) who can help guide you to success?
A mentor is someone who currently is where you want to be. The relationship you have with a mentor can be an official one, or it can be informal such as following in the footsteps of someone you admire. Mentors have experience and have gone through growing pains towards success. They will know what kinds of training you may need or skills to develop.