8 Reasons You Cannot Afford To Fail At Having A Healthy Relationship With Your Boss
It is said that the only profession where people start off at the top is grave-digging. This invariably means that in almost every other thing you do in life which includes your career in the corporate world – you will definitely start from a lower rung of the ladder with someone as your boss.
This concept of hierarchy is so important in the workplace that the first thing a new hire is taught is the organizational chart or organogram – the distribution of power and responsibilities. Once you understand the power structure in any organization, you can better navigate the terrain.
It can be difficult when you are working under the supervision of another, owing to the fact that the balance of power isn’t skewed towards you – it could seem like a long walk on eggshells. Notwithstanding, you have to learn to effectively manage that relationship. This is not only important when you were relatively a greenhorn, and you still had a long way to go in your career. Infact it I’d more important to manage the relationship effectively now that you have already attained some senior leadership role . Emotional intelligence definitely empowers you to understand the power structure, better manage conflicts and resolve crisis. There are a number of benefits that come with having a healthy relationship with your boss and some of them are listed below.
- It Will Reduce Your Work Stress
Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. It can then be further argued that stress can both be ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ in the workplace. Natural in the sense that certain circumstances are inevitable and as such, you have developed the capacity to manage such over time. For example, in densely populated metropolitan cities, traffic congestion although undesirable are frequent occurrences. Also in the workplace itself, you can go through stress of a sedentary position or a tasking brief.
It becomes unnatural when owing to your perceived fallout with your boss, he or she becomes your principal stressor and weaponizes more stress against you. Not that this is acceptable by any standards but it’s one of the brutal signatures of office politics. As such, you may find yourself working more hours than you ought, asked to do more with less resources than your colleagues or even assigned to the most mentally draining clients.
- It Will Help To Boost Your Morale
One of the things that wears people out mentally, is the thought of resuming every day of the working week to deal with a cantankerous boss. It can hamper your productivity because even your body will begin to resent the job. This type of antagonistic atmosphere is not sustainable because in most cases you spend at least a third of your day at the workplace which accounts for a significant fraction of your life. So for the sake of your own sanity and motivation especially when it is apparent that you will continue your employment at such organization in the foreseeable future, you should get on the same page with your boss.
When you have a cordial relationship with your boss, you are naturally in high spirits because you know that your presence and contributions in the workplace is appreciated. This is the state of mind you want to operate from, it will ultimately reflect on your productivity and over all well-being.
- It Can Put You On A Fast Lane In Your Career
This doesn’t necessary imply that you should become a stooge just to be in the good graces of your boss. It also doesn’t mean that meritocracy is being sacrificed on the altar of nepotism. It does mean that the productive interactions you have with your boss gives him or her a better perspective of your contributions and therefore puts you in pole position for greater opportunities and rewards which will definitely fast-track your career.
Especially in large organizations, it is highly unlikely that the chief executive may have direct access to your day-to-day routine – he or she has to rely heavily on the report of your line manager or supervisor who is your direct boss. For example, your boss may even help you refine your efforts and ensure they are tailor-made to better meet your deliverables and key performance indicators from a management standpoint.
- It Can Help You Receive Useful Feedback
There are certain things you can only get from your boss when there is effective communication and a healthy boss-subordinate relationship. This type of feedback is very important because it comes before-the-fact; when you get corrections or commentary before job evaluations or appraisals – it’s a blessing. When these corrections come after-the fact, it somewhat takes away from your assessment because beyond the specific criteria of your job appraisal, your leadership quotient is what is really being measured.
When there is no love lost between you and your boss, there is a high probability that he or she would not go the extra mile to look out for you but will leave you to your own whims and caprices which can ultimately hunt you in the grand scheme of things. You are the one that needs to put in the extra effort to hear what your boss is saying or not saying – that simple approach can become very rewarding during your employment in the organization.
- It Increases Your Chances Of Promotion
Every organization seeks continuity, to perpetuate itself by creating a pipeline of leaders that can easily replace existing ones. So whilst merit is a strong basis for promotion, there are other considerations from the organization’s perspective in terms of which persons can best represent the interests of the organization at a much higher level – the ability to get along with the existing leadership is an indication of whether or not you have gotten with the programme. Getting along with your boss really isn’t about him or her but it speaks to the broader issues of your social skills.
No organization wants to promote a person who doesn’t get along with others into the highest echelons of the organogram. In fact, the higher you go in any organization, the more you have to engage stakeholders within and without the organization. A proof of that sagacity must be exhibited at one level before it is being elevated to another level. Just like academic institutions are required to progress students on the twin criteria of learning and character, organizations are no different.
- It Fosters Mutual Understanding
Communication and comprehension starts from one person understanding the other person even before a response to what they say or don’t say. One of the challenges that comes with your inability to get along with your boss is that you will struggle to grasp their perspective and rationale for making certain decisions. Mutual understanding come with mutual benefits – both you and your boss will gain clarity into each other’s modus operandi. There is a certain level of productivity that can only be unlocked from having order which is further predicated on a convergence of ideas.
Most conflicts are avoidable because such rifts are really about two people saying the same thing in different words or taking a different route to arriving at the same destination. This will help you filter your approaches, especial as it borders on negotiables and non-negotiables. There are certain things like the specificity of job titles that are very expendable and you don’t have to split hair over such. You can choose on the other hand to stand your ground against any abuse of your human dignity – that is very understandable and necessary.
- It Increases Your Access To Opportunities
The reward for great work is more work. Your work doesn’t just imply how well you execute your tasks but also how well you work with others, in this case your boss. More opportunities is a means by which organization validates your contribution. It means that you have ticked the right boxes and amongst other things your boss is pleased with your performances.
You should be worried whenever your boss isn’t putting more work on your desk. It isn’t just a subtle way to saying that you are performing below par, it may also mean that you’re inching closer to your exit. Less work isn’t something you should ever be happy about, it means you’re very expendable and if it continues long enough, you services may no longer be required.
- It Strengthens Mutual Trust & Confidence
When your boss sees how well you have maximized an opportunity, he or she would definitely wants to have a repeat experience. For example, there would be times when your boss wants to assign someone to a task or delegate someone to represent him or her, chances are that such choice will be informed by the extent of cordiality that exists between you and your boss. Your boss should be rest assured that asides your competence, you have the right attitude to effectively represent at a higher level when called upon.
Anytime your boss assigns a task to you, he or she is virtually staking their reputation on your ability to deliver the goods. So as you can expect, nobody would take a chance on their hard-earned pedigree on someone who hasn’t been tried, tested and trusted. If you for example have to give a speech on behalf of your boss, everything you say or don’t say will be seen as a direct instruction from him. If you cannot be trusted by your boss to carry out things like that, it means you have more work to do on the relationship between the both of you.