Best Ways to Improve Communication with your Manager
If you want to do well in your career, you cannot do so alone; your communication skills will be called into play, particularly when it comes to people you work with every day, such as your boss and other colleagues. However, good communication does not necessarily come easily, particularly if you and your boss have a personality clash or don’t see eye to eye for other reasons. Fortunately, with a little bit of effort and the following suggestions, you should be able to develop a way of effectively communicating with your boss.
- Develop a relationship
You need to develop some kind of a relationship with your boss, whether you like them or not, because you need to work with them. Going out for the occasional lunch, or having a brief chat on a Monday morning about the weekend can help to build a relationship. Things don’t need to get very personal, but some kind of informal contact will help to improve communication in general. If your boss is rarely in the office, then work out another way of contact – either by phone or email.
- Have regular updates
If you want to ensure that communication between you and your boss is as good as it can be, you will need to ensure that you regularly update your boss on your progress and vice versa. If you don’t already meet up on a regular basis, then suggest a weekly meeting time. Should that not work well, because your boss is often out of the office for instance, ensure that you send a regular email update. This could focus on current projects and any problems that you may have encountered. Most bosses will appreciate being kept in the loop and you get to cover yourself in case of any problems in the future.
- Ask when unsure
You may be convinced that you know more about your job than your boss does. That may even be true. However, your boss has almost certainly earned his position and you should defer to them as and when necessary. Asking advice may not be something that you like to do, but your boss will appreciate being asked and it shows that you can be humble – something most bosses want to see occasionally. It will also give you an opportunity to work out exactly what it is your boss wants from you.
- Avoid over-riding your boss
You may be convinced that you know better than your boss, but never let these feelings show. Whether in meetings, in the office or on the telephone, always defer to your boss and find ways of making your point without deriding him. If your boss believes that you support him and will back him up as far as possible, then communication between the two of you will be so much more straightforward. That doesn’t mean that you can’t voice your opinions if you feel the need to, but you should always watch your attitude.
- Always show respect
Your boss is a senior member of staff and deserves your respect, even if you don’t like his work methods or his personality. Always be polite when you meet in the corridor, make an effort to speak in the morning and last thing at night and generally be as respectful as possible in all communications, in person or otherwise. One sure-fire way of annoying your boss and damaging your communication channels is to be rude or ignore their presence.
- Avoid going behind your boss’ back
If you have an issue with something your boss has asked you to do, then tackle it head on in a calm, controlled manner. Do not, unless you have no other choice, go behind your boss’ back. This is tantamount to saying that your boss is incompetent and it will simply make things awkward between you. It is also unprofessional and is unlikely to endear any of the other members of senior management to you. Once you are a senior manager yourself, you will have the opportunity to do things as you would like them done.
- Take part in team-building activities
Nearly every organisation has some kind of team-building activity every now and again. Make sure that you take part, even if it isn’t compulsory. If there are any issues between you and your boss that are affecting your channels of communication, you may be able to find ways of coping with them through such activities. Hopefully, your boss will also come to realise that communication works both ways; even senior managers sometimes fall short when it comes to effective communication.
You can find effective ways of communicating with your boss, even if he is the most difficult person you have ever come across. The key is to be creative, respectful and to expect there to be problems on occasion. Most importantly, every boss is different, so don’t expect the same methods to work across the board.
