The CRAFT of Impressing Your Boss

The executive assistant of a high-profile and respected showbiz personality, who I met during my first job, shared with me the CRAFT of impressing your boss. I have used this as a guiding light in my work-life and have received firsthand the benefits of such wisdom.

Today, I’m here to pass on this guiding light to you in the hopes that you too will reap great rewards and a harmonious relationship with your boss.

WHY WE NEED TO IMPRESS OUR BOSS

Before I share the CRAFT with you, let us first discuss why we need to please and impress our boss in the first place! Well, aside from the fact that your boss is the one who fills in your performance evaluation and has a say on promotions and pay increases, it pays to please your boss because if you don’t, you will have an unhappy superior, or worse, an angry one. And who wants a boss who gets annoyed at seeing the sight of you? Who wants a boss who screams and puts people down for breakfast?

The truth is, if your boss likes you and the way you do your job, he or she will be much kinder and supportive of your projects and ideas. Your boss will see you for the bright person that you are and may even take you under his or her wings and mentor you. This will help you achieve greater heights in your career. You will gain your boss’ and co-workers’ respect. And frankly, it feels really good to be recognized and respected for the work that you do. Don’t you agree?

THE CRAFT

So now that we know why it pays to impress your boss, let us discuss what the wisdom of CRAFT brings. CRAFT is an acronym for:

C – Communicate
R – Remind
A – Anticipate
F – Follow Through
T – Timing

Let us discuss these five habits that you need to master to work well with your boss.

COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR BOSS

Your boss is not a mind-reader, unless of course you work for a gifted mental telepath. When there is work-related information that he needs to know, tell him. If you don’t understand an instruction that he gives, ask questions. If there is an important development in your work or even your life that affects your work, initiate a discussion with your boss.

There are cases, however, wherein it’s hard to talk to your boss. For instance, what do you do when your boss is always busy and away on meetings? Well, communication is not just about talking. You can use many means such as email, text, chat, post-it notes or letters. Do what you have to do to communicate important information to your boss. Don’t just stop at a roadblock and say “I didn’t have load”.

REMIND YOUR BOSS

With the many responsibilities of your boss, he or she may not have the time to keep track of all of his schedules and correspondences. It is your job as his subordinate to remind him of important things. Our administrative supervisor Cynthia, does this flawlessly by keeping a daily planner for the bosses. Very early in the week, she emails our schedule to remind us of appointments. On top of that, we also use practical tools like a Monthly Calendar whiteboard to remind everyone of special events and schedules.

ANTICIPATE NEEDS

Anticipation is the skill of foreseeing needs, problems or events in the near future and preparing solutions for them. As an employee, you want to get three steps ahead of your boss. In my previous job, whenever I detected a problem, I would approach my boss and inform him about it. But I just don’t stop there. I knew that my likability factor will go down if I am always the bearer of bad news. So, I would analyze the situation and think before going to my boss. I would tell him the problem and give three suggestions to solve the problem. This way, I don’t become part of the problem. Instead, I’m part of the solution---and bosses love that.

FOLLOW THROUGH

As a boss, I always encourage my subordinates to write a things-to-do list to help them plan their day. One of my earlier staff followed this habit religiously, except there was a slight flaw. She would strike a task as soon as she does a task. For example, her first task is to call a client. So she calls the client, but he is out. After putting the phone down, she strikes the task as done. INCORRECT. When a boss gives you a task, he or she expects you to complete that task. Follow-through means doing the task well and completely, the first time.

And once you have accomplished the task, it is critical that you get back to your boss and update him of your progress. Do not wait for your boss to be the one to ask and follow up. Take the initiative to update him. This will show that you are on top of things and have follow-through.

TIMING

Now you don’t just go talk to your boss whenever you feel like it. Chances are your boss is busy and pressured with his own responsibilities at work. When you catch him at a toxic time, do not ask him if he prefers the team to wear colour blue or green uniforms in the sports festival two months from now. When you boss is busy, frowning and tense, approach with caution. If he has a secretary outside his office, ask her if it is a good time. If you need to talk to him about something important but not urgent, schedule an appointment. Use proper timing when dealing with your boss.

THE CRAFT OF IMPRESSING YOUR BOSS is really about saying and doing your job properly with good sense and sensibility. It is a guiding principle that will help you work in harmony with your boss. Now the CRAFT is yours, use it wisely.


Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the managing director of HR Club Philippines and president of Businessmaker Academy---a training company that offers corporate group seminars on Professional Work Skills and Attitude. They also hold short course seminars on business and entrepreneurship, sales and marketing, human resource management and corporate skills training, as well as develop interactive webinars for corporations and institutions. To know more about these organizations and the seminars they offer, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com and www.hrclubphilippines.com or call (632)6874645. You may email your comments and questions to: mbworklife@gmail.com