It doesn't have to be as extreme as what contestants do to impress TV personality Donald Trump on The Apprentice, but simply showing up on time can do wonders for your career. Picture: AP Source: AP
IN A related feature we took a look at the kinds of habits bosses hate. The habits listed there included issues involving initiative, making excuses and airing complaints.
In short, they were avoidable habits that bore a shared consequence: they devoured your boss’ time and energy.
Here we’ll survey the contrary, the habits bosses love to see in their employees. As you will note, these habits also share a single, larger consequence: they save your boss time and energy. As a result, both you and your boss come out looking better and competent.
As you read, keep in mind that the reasons why bosses love these habits can just as easily be understood by considering their contrary.
Bosses love it when…
You Show Accountability
Your boss has more to do than ensure that your work gets done accurately and on time; he has his own work to do and he has a boss who holds him accountable to that work as well as the work you do. When you deliver on, or before, deadlines and produce results, you contribute to the smooth, efficient workings of the office without drawing negative attention to yourself.
Accountability also means that you take responsibility for your failures as much as you would for your successes. To that end, this touches on one of the habits bosses hate -- making excuses. A boss understands that some situations are beyond anyone’s control, but the difference is made in how you react to those situations. Accountable people don’t offer excuses -- period. Rather, they do what needs to be done -- and that’s why accountability is one of the habits bosses love.
You're Prepared
A maxim attributed to Roman dramatist Seneca the Younger suggests that luck or success is the outcome of preparation meeting opportunity. This sentiment can be found among an assortment of other quotes and proverbial sayings, giving it the credence of centuries.
What does it mean, and how is it applicable? Any time that you’re scheduled to participate in a meeting, whether it’s as big as a conference or as small as a one-on-one with your boss, you should enter the situation armed to the teeth with as much pertinent information as you can find. By "pertinent" we mean relevant to that particular meeting, to your position in the company and to the industry as a whole. Habits bosses love come in many shapes and forms, but when he doesn’t have to hold your hand and explain new concepts or strategies to you, because you stay abreast of your position and industry, he’ll make you his star employee.
Bosses appreciate employees who are prepared for a variety of reasons: it shows dedication, self-motivation and confidence - three factors that happen to play a huge role in getting you promoted.
You Work Smart
There are only so many hours in the workday, and your boss shouldn’t expect anything more out of you than to make the most of those hours. Efficiency is one of the many, and most important, habits bosses love. You would benefit greatly if you learn to maximize your time. You can learn this skill with a course in time management, where you will learn to comprehend the working difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Part of that difference is in taking the time to do those things well that require time, as opposed to simply ”getting them done.”
Working late does not necessarily give your boss the impression that you’re working hard. In fact, the more common perception is that you’re working with some degree of inefficiency. If you need extra time to get work done, you’ll make a better impression if you come to work early.
You Stay Current
Staying current - in news, technologies and skill sets-- is always beneficial, but it is all the more urgent in today’s fast-paced business climate. Sign up for e-mail alerts and newsletters pertinent to your industry and keep an eye out for classes you can take to keep your skill set current. While a few professions require annual competency exams, the majority do not, and anyone can quickly become out-dated due to rapidly progressing technologies.
Staying current is one of the habits bosses love because it shows him that you’re motivated, intelligent, interested, and self-confident. If you can suggest new and emerging ideas to apply to your current profession, you help keep your employer on the cutting edge, you make your boss look like a genius for hiring you, and you come out looking phenomenal in the process.
You Make Them Look Good
This is something of a catch-all category, one that can be achieved on some level by adopting all of the previously listed habits bosses love and striving to eliminate the hated ones. But it doesn’t end there.
In trying to make the boss look good, there is a huge potential to be perceived as a kiss-ass - a perception that won’t help you at any stage in the course of your career. In short, no one likes a suck-up, and no one has liked them since first meeting the teacher’s pet in grammar school. Bosses are not bound to find this behavior appealing because of the way it reflects on them, and for this same reason, they’re not likely to reward it.
Therefore, learn to resist the urge to trumpet your successes. Rather, take satisfaction in the knowledge that these successes are scoring you points with the higher-ups, and that you’ll be rewarded accordingly.
Herringbone Habits
There’s no denying that these features on workplace habits advocate a degree of conformity within the workplace. But it is far less about blind, mechanical conformity and more about learning to successfully adapt to the situation around you - a trait that, once developed, has applications that go well beyond the workplace.
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