Making a good impression and working
happily ever after
OK, so let’s start at the beginning. It’s your first day at work and you want to make a good
impression. That’s done by impressing those around you (obviously), but who do you really
need to do to impress on that first day at the office and forever after?
• Your boss?
• Your boss’s boss?
• Your staff?
• Your peers?
• The CEO?
• The receptionist?
The answer is of course all of them, BUT the ones you need to concentrate on first are your
boss (this chapter) and your staff (see ‘Managing Staff’). If they undermine you, you’re out
of there whether you like it or not.
So how do you impress your boss? Well I could go down the theoretical route of analyzing
personality traits, determining where their personalities lie on the well-known scales and
charts, but I did say that I wasn’t going to do that.
So here is the REAL practical advice:
• Like them and be liked. By this I don’t mean all that brown nose stuff or that you
should try to become their friend (although becoming your boss’s friend can help a
career) but really try hard to understand them, work out what they like and what
they dislike. “So what” I hear you say (email or text), let’s see the practical stuff
that you’re talking about. Well, here it is:
o Find out what makes them laugh – write down what things they react
positively to. Was it an outright joke, an interesting anecdote or do they
really prefer you to jump straight in there and ignore the niceties? Sounds
corny I know, but if you make them laugh they’ll think you’re a good guy. By
the way, if you tell a joke or anecdote or other humorist comment and they
respond badly move on and don’t dwell on it, and certainly don’t repeat it. It
could be a culture issue, language issue or simply a lack of GSOH on their
behalf. But, whatever you do, don’t see it as your fault or problem, don’t lose
any sleep over it but do try a different approach next time. Finding out what
makes them laugh doesn’t need to be done over night. If you are a cautious
person you can monitor their approach to humor over a few weeks before
making your move.
o Find out their pet dislikes. In fact ask them outright. o Do they dislike projects or tasks being delivered late, or do they dislike
poor communication skills (which, in reality, may mean a lack of
communication)? If your boss has to chase you up on something it
probably means you should have updated them already! So find out how
often they chase up on tasks and make sure you get in there first.
o Do they hate negativity? No-one likes the person around the table that is
negative and unconstructive. How do you know if someone is a negative
force? Simple. If after a conversation with someone you feel energized,
they are a positive force. If after a conversation with someone you feel
tired and drawn, they are a negative force. If you ask me, don’t let
anyone get you down and more importantly, don’t be the person that gets
everyone else down.
o Do they hate bad grammar? See the ‘How to write’ chapter to avoid these
pitfalls.
• Ask intelligent questions. This is a tough one, as sometimes you may be in a
meeting where you don’t know very much about the topic under discussion. My
advice is to follow the rules below to maximize your input and chances of being
recognized as an effective contributor:
o Be confident. If you have an idea, express it. It’s rare that a group laughs or
dismisses an idea outright even if it isn’t really that good. Your ideas will get
better and better over time as will your confidence. It’s a never ending cycle
of improvement.
o Chat beforehand. If it’s an important meeting try to speak to one or two
people either inside or outside the meeting group in advance to help gains
ideas. I don’t mean steal their ideas by passing them off as your own, but if
you agree with them, bring them into the conversation in a structured way.
o Research. Sounds boring I know, but when you research the topic
beforehand it’s amazing what questions may come to mind, which actually
may be pretty damn good.
o Ask the obvious. It’s amazing how many times you have an “obvious”
question in mind and you don’t ask it. Eventually somebody else gets the
plaudits for asking that question or you leave the meeting wondering why you
did not have the confidence to ask it.
o Remember you core skills. If you’re the finance guy then it is fine for you to
ask the pressing finance question. If you’re the sales guy it’s fine to ask the
sales question. Playing to your strengths is a good idea. It allows you to join
in the conversation and add value. [Note: if the topic has absolutely nothing
to do with your area of work, revisit the points above.]
• Help your boss be successful. Sure, I hear you say. I’ll come up with ideas for
improving their department and they will take the credit. Well, if that’s what your
boss is like are you working for the right person or indeed company? Look, if your
boss’s life is made easier and they look more impressive because of your help, 9
times out of 10 (I didn’t have the confidence to say ninety-nine times out of a hundred) your boss will reward you. This may be through verbal recognition, juicy
project work (if that’s relevant) or letting others know how well you are performing
through both informal channels and the formal appraisal process. So how can you
help your boss look good:
o Tell them what they are doing wrong (tactfully!) and make damn sure that
you have some recommendations for them. No-one likes negativity
remember!
o Find out what their goals are and make sure that your goals tie in to some of
theirs. If it is unclear to you how your goals fit in with theirs, speak to your
boss about this and listen carefully to their guidance.
o Come up with ideas for them on how to improve the performance of their
department. If you have time, offer to help them improve things, but be
careful not to upset others in the department if the matters you identify lie
outside your immediate area of responsibility. I don’t mean tread on eggshells but make sure that tact remains the order of the day.
o Say good things about them to other senior management leaders, if such
praise is honest. Indeed there must be something good about them? Are
they good at communicating, listening, recognizing valuable contributions,
developing career paths, being flexible over your working conditions?
Undoubtedly there is something good about them that you can share. Others
will then see you as a positive force within that department. If I was a
betting man I would put money on your boss hearing about this through their
network and then mentally logging that you’re a good person to have in their
team.
o Let them know when things are not getting done (again, avoid negativity).
They may have an important project or area of work that is not progressing
as it should be. If you have clear and substantiated facts to support this then
alert your boss. Avoid rumors and hearsay as this comes across as immature
and may be considered as your attempt to discredit other people within their
department. But at the end of the day your boss will thank you for your
transparency and tactfulness in bringing this issue to their attention.
o Tell them when they have done well. If they have run a department-wide or
group-wide meeting or perhaps smaller meeting for 2-3 people (if you work in
a small team) don’t feel shy about telling them how good they were. We’re
not talking brown-nose stuff here but rather constructive comments about
how the time they have spent on something that has improved the quality of
the department. “Hey boss, it was really great that you took the time to
speak to the team about the company’s strategy for the current year. They
really enjoyed the visibility.” Your boss will certainly remember your support
and will value it.
Is it too late to change? One thing to remember is that it is never too late to
change. I remember a situation where a member of staff had lost their manager (a
careless thing to do) and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new one. The
previous incumbent did not treat them in an adult fashion and did not view them as
a mature and professional individual. Their concern was that the new manager would immediately assume the same. My advice was to see this as an opportunity
and not a threat to their career. I asked the individual in question to draw up a
profile of how they would like to be viewed by the incoming boss. This ended up
being a simple exercise and the staff member (also a manager, albeit at a more
junior level) put together a pretty cool document. Once I saw the document I
realized that they had a very clear view of how they would like to be perceived. The
key was for them to not simply act like that person but be the person on the
document, from Day 1 (first impressions last and all that). So, I sat down with the
person in question and we came up with a plan on how to act, portray and in fact
truly be that person from here on in. Given that the new manager had no preconceived ideas (I certainly wasn’t going to give them any) it was not that difficult to
continue work with this new persona, gravitas and maturity. Their boss had left and
a new one joined (remember that they hadn’t been promoted into their manager’s
role) but the impression their new boss had of them was entirely different and far
more favorable. 2 years later the manager moved on and the individual was
promoted into their role, which would not have happened if they had not taken the
steps to grow, mature and effectively show themselves to be a more polished and
complete person (from a work point of view). Remember, if you inherit a new boss
(under any circumstance) it is your opportunity to reinvent yourself for the better.
Don’t miss that opportunity or doubt how significant a timely review of self can make
to your career trajectory.
by The Rough Guide
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