A cry I often hear from my executive coaching clients is, “I don’t know what my boss wants!”
They are not trying to understand a specific task or project expectation, they’re looking for attention and to gain the respect of the person to whom they report.
It should be relatively easy, requiring some cooperation on both parties. I guess you could attempt to help your boss figure this out, though that seems awkward and could be read wrong.
What a Boss Wants from Employees
- What have you done for me, lately? Last week was last week and a month ago seems like an eternity. The demands of the workplace are future-focused with little time to look back.
Anyone managing a significant number of people can’t keep up with every success and surely doesn’t have the time, or inclination, to do so. I’m not talking about the big stuff, rather referring more to slow but steady progression being made.
That’s why I encourage coaching clients to memorialize achievements. It can take the form of a weekly or monthly synopsis, listing what happened, what didn’t, risks and red flags, where you need help from them or others. It’s a short list, done in a consistent format, that can be read in a minute or two. Filed in your defense file. (Something everyone needs to establish for end of year performance evaluations.) It helps you recall your contributions and protects you from accusations of, “Why didn’t I hear of this sooner?”
The people who have tried this formalized reporting tell me their bosses love it, sometimes rolling it out to their entire team. What have you done for your boss lately?
- Make me look good. The crucial flip side of this is “never make me look bad, silly, or questionable.” “Happy wife, happy life” plays out in the workplace as “Happy boss, happy workplace.”
Your boss wants to look good. How do you do that? The obvious answer is to do excellent work. The less apparent is keeping your leader informed, so he or she is conversant on the topic but not necessarily fluent. No one likes to be put on the spot and not know the answer — prevent this from happening to your leader and you will gain points. In public forums allow them to take the lead in the conversation and then interject to add to what they’re saying. A smart boss will defer to the expert — but not always.
Speak highly of your boss to others, assuming you mean it and they deserve it. Everyone has a reputation, and in the workplace, it is developed from all levels of the organization. In competing groups or silos, attracting internal transfers has a lot to do with what people think of the head of the department. If your boss is a good one — tell people (and tell him or her that you did).
- It’s lonely up here. The higher in the hierarchy your boss is the more isolated he or she becomes. I had a boss who visited the restroom three times a day “just to find out what was really going on around here.”
Sharing news, even gossip, can make a manager look current, ease anxiety, and help see when dark clouds are drifting in the organization. Don’t become the town crier or the group yenta but selectively share when you think they should know. You may become their confident — a burdensome but powerful position.
- Sooner is better than perfect. Many people I coach suffer from analysis paralysis and/or perfectionism. The quality of their work is impeccable — their delivery schedule is off and the time dedicated is unreasonable. Making sure information travels to the next in line or finishing the paper with one draft, not five, means things advance. Often your boss wants something, and something may not be perfect but good enough may be good enough.
Successful people don’t miss deadlines. They understand the value of time and energy management. They are particularly adept at knowing when to stop. Lateness reflects bad on the supervisor. He looks out of control or complacent. This is worse than not having every detail in place.
Make a habit of delivering the expected before or at the completion date. Don’t be the person that has to be nagged to finish. Be the employee your boss knows he or she can rely on. For some people this is a no-brainer but for many of us it is a real challenge. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s we are taking care of the wrong aspect of the project.
- Treat me like a human. This may sound odd, but it’s true. What is also true is it really is lonely at the top. Going through the day when you only hear bad news, or the unrelenting needs of others can be dehumanizing. You probably won’t and shouldn’t be buddies with your boss, but it doesn’t mean that “good morning” or a congrats isn’t welcome.
While everyone is being super careful not to harass anyone about anything, they have at times forgotten to be nice, polite, and human. Try to see the person behind the glass wall. Many top people are introverts, some quite shy. There are quite a few who would welcome a reprieve from the day-to-day struggle. Don’t you feel that way at times?
Understanding the wants and needs of the person you report to can make your life easier and enhance your career trajectory. While being timely, letting your boss know you are on top of your projects, have his or her welfare in mind, may seem obvious, it isn’t always.
Think how what has been said applies to your situation.
What could you do more of?
What should you stop doing?
And what has never occurred to you?
Give it a minute.
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