5 Things To Avoid Doing At Your New Job (part 4)

You already know three things to avoid doing at your new job, they are:

• Thinking your hardest work is behind you

• Focusing on the technical aspects of the job

• Prescribing “THE” solution too quickly

Here’s the fourth thing!

4. Feeling It’s Your Boss’ Responsibility to Build A Productive Working Relationship With You

You’ve just joined the team and the thrill of new work challenges causes dopamine to shoot to your brain. You’re feeling on top of the world!

It would be pretty easy to become self-focused as you learn all about your new role, what is expected of you, and what challenges you face on a regular basis.

Catch yourself before you become so focused on yourself that you lose sight of one of your all-important responsibilities - building an effective working relationship with your boss!

The relationship you build or don’t build with your boss is going to be one of the single biggest contributors to you doing well in your new role.

Manage this key relationship well and your career (and probably life) will be a ton easier!  

But hear me out before you start to tune out!

I am not saying you need to respond to every single request of your boss within 30 seconds of when he or she asks. I am not saying that you need to put aside your self-respect to meet their overbearing demands.

Rather, what I am saying is that the interview process is like the dating relationship with your boss, and now that you’re on the bus, this is marriage.

Proactively and positively manage your relationship with your boss or it will manage you.

Think of it as a 300 lb German Shepherd - you’ll want to feed it, walk it, and play with it now and again. And if you don’t, you’ll be like one of those young kids you see trying to pull one of those monsters on a leash. You’ll be dragged and jerked in every direction.

So what are you to do?

Here are 7 simple ways to build a relationship with your boss:

#1 Believe the best. Don’t believe, like Michael Scott, that “boss” is just slang for Jerk In Charge.

#2 Build enduring trust. David Horsager’s book, The Trust Edge, outlines eight pillars necessary to build lasting relationships with others. Check it out here.

#3 Follow skillfully. Much is written about leadership; little is written about the other side of leadership, followership. Follow these rules closely.

#4 Lead up well. Use the strategies in this book to effectively manage your manager so that you both win!

#5 Stay out of drama triangles. Not sure what I mean? Watch this video to learn how to do avoid the drama and do the work.

#6 Avoid the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE). What do I mean? To quote Wikipedia, “In social psychology, the Fundamental Attribution Error, also known as the correspondence bias or attribution effect, is people’s tendency to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics to explain someone’s else’s behavior in a given situation, rather than considering external factors.”

Essentially, consider external factors before assuming people are just mean, selfish, or out to get you.

#7 Communicate good news fast and bad news faster. While it’s unlikely that your boss wields the power of the dark side like Darth Vader, communicate openly and in a timely manner.

What about you? How have you built a successful relationship with your boss? Sign up here for more helpful career strategies and tips!