To succeed in impressing your boss without really trying – it’s
fatal to push too much – you should:
■ Always be frank and open. Admit mistakes. Never lie or
even shade the truth. If there is the faintest suspicion that
you are not perfectly straightforward, your boss will never
trust you again.
■ Aim to help your boss to be right. This does not mean being
subservient or time-serving. Recognize, however, that you
exist to give him or her support – in the right direction.
■ Respond fast to requests on a can do/will do basis.
■ Don’t trouble him or her unnecessarily with your problems.
■ Provide him or her with protection where required. Loyalty
is an old-fashioned virtue, but you owe it to your boss. If you
cannot be loyal then you should get out from under as quick
as you can.
■ Provide your boss with what the army calls ‘completed staff
work’. This means that if you are asked to do something you
should do it thoroughly. Come up with solutions, not prob-
lems. Test your ideas in draft form if you like, but, having
done so, present a complete proposal with whatever
supporting arguments or evidence you need. Avoid half-
baked suggestions. Your boss wants answers, not questions.
When you have finished your report and studied your
conclusions and recommendations, ask yourself the ques-
tion: ‘If I were my boss would I stake my reputation on this
piece of work and put my name to it?’ If the answer is ‘No’,
tear up your report and do it again. It’s not completed staff
work.
How to Manage Your Boss 141