Change The Way Your Boss Sees You — For The Better
Written by: Elisia Keown, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Your boss has no clue about what you do all day.
Your boss has a lot going on too.
In addition to managing you, they're managing their broader team, their own workload, their relationship with their own boss, and oh yeah, their personal life.
Yes, you can meet with them during a weekly meeting to provide updates (more about that in another article), but there's no way to capture it all.
And, if you're known for consistently doing well, then your boss is probably assuming no news is good news. That would be great if you just want to remain at status quo and do the same job for eternity.
So how can your boss possibly know all you've accomplished and where you're adding value?
Change your boss' view of you in under 5 minutes a week
Here's what you'll do.
Tell your boss ahead of time, what you're planning to do. An example below:
Hi boss!
I'm going to send you a quick status update to let you know what I'm working on - no action required on your end unless you see an issue I should address.
Thanks!
Write an End-of-week Recap
At the end of the week, you'll send your boss a quick note sharing things you accomplished this week, what you plan to do next week and any questions or roadblocks that you've hit. Make it a short note that is clear, concise, and easy to read. Take only a few minutes to write it - no long essays - and should only take your boss a few minutes to read it. This is the most important part - to get your boss to read it all - make it short and sweet!
An example, below:
This week:
I accomplished…
On deck for next week:
I have…
Roadblocks and/or questions:
If you need help with a bigger issue, mention it without going into all the detail. For example: I got stuck on a step in the project, I need your help with a budgeting concern that we can talk about in our next meeting.
Benefits for you
Helps you know what to work on
What not to work on
Allows for reflection each week on where you spent your time
Helps you get answers, quicker
Benefits for your boss
Updates them on your work and projects
Helps them advocate for you
Allows them transparency on your workload, obstacles, and ways they can support you
Give it a try this week and let me know how it goes!
Struggling with how to communicate with your boss? Want more in-depth tips or tricks on working with your supervisor? I'd be happy to help! Click here to book a free, 30-minute session with me and we can get started right away.
Elisia Keown, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Elisia has 21 years of experience and a passion for coaching leaders, which makes her uniquely qualified to be the perfect coach for you. She's managed multiple geographically dispersed retail locations and led teams of employees numbering in the hundreds. She knows the importance of delegation, clear communication, and the power of direct feedback for development. She can help you organize yourself, your time, and your team to focus on the right priorities to drive results.
She's led Talent Acquisition teams and has global recruiting experience. She learned quickly how hiring and retaining the right talent in a business truly impacts results. She can help you decipher if you have the right team in place to support you and what to do if you don't. She's supported multiple leaders of large teams (some managing up to 30,000+ employees) with all aspects of Human Resources.
She's coached leaders to manage the performance of their teams, including having the most difficult and emotional conversations. She's helped leaders navigate through internal politics and helped them learn how to have a productive working relationship with their boss.
She can support you with all of this and more.
