Be Happy – Keep Your Boss Happy

Can you deny that you have got someone as boss in your life? How high be you arrogant but when you will introspect yourself, you will find that someone plays the role of boss in your life. The boss is that person who directly or indirectly influences your decisions or you dare not to displease him/her. It is not necessary that publicly, he/she is addressed as Boss; some other title can be there.

If you are husband, your wife might be your boss to influence your decisions to certain extent, whether lovingly or using a submissive, polite, commanding or persuasive language. If you are a son, your parents – your father or your mother occupies this seat. If you are a brother, your elder sister and if you are employee, naturally the person who employs you or your senior in the hierarchy, is your boss whatever the title he has or you address him. Some time, you are influenced by your teacher, guru, your love-mate or the person you are dependent upon for your basic or other needs.

For the benefit of your own, you always wish to keep good relations with him/her. His/her pleasure is necessary also for your health, to keep you worry-less and sometime, that is required for maintaining/adding up to your mental peace, family peace, promotions, status, financial freedom, your life style and other relevant material/immaterial things necessary for you. You do your best always but sometime, the train can go wrong side. In spite of your best efforts, you could not meet her/his wishes. It can happen even unexpectedly. At one point of time, the Boss breaks his or her word, bad-mouths you, or denies your promotion. You may not get proper meals/facilities, if you are at your home. You should not be surprised. Your boss may start to ignore your ideas, talk down to you, and expect you to be a mind-reader. And that doesn't even count the eavesdropping. What's worse, your boss won't talk about it with you, telling you to "move on." as if nothing ever happened. OK, it means that your terms with your boss are now not good. It is not good for your health too if it is continued for a little bit longer period. It can jeopardize your hopes for a smooth life, better prospects, good incomes creating imbalance in your life etc.

You know! Having to answer to a boss is a fact of your life. You can not escape for long. But what are your options when you're undermined by the person whose goodwill you need? Sure, you can lash out or introspect yourself. When the anger starts to boil, kindly consider the following:

1. You must not act immediately
Initially, you may wish to fight back. You may fantasize about writing a blistering critique of your rotten boss. . . and e-mailing it to the CEO. To some extent, you may try to take steps. But no, it is not right time. You should immediately take care of your anger and thoughts. Sure, your boss may be right at his/her point? Think from that angle too. If he/she is right, take corrective action. Your boss may be small-minded, two-faced, spineless, and technically inept, try to ignore as he/she is posted at superior post and his/her anger can harm you. You must not play with the fire when the jobs are already in danger zone due to recession. Please try to extinguish it at the earliest.

2. You must be diplomatic in transacting with your boss.
If you feel that you have been cheated or unfairly smeared, welcome to the real world. But don't let it turn you sour or sloppy. And don't let your boss get to you, either. Just you need to nod and smile when he delivers another self-serving sermon. Assure him/her to maintain a can-do attitude, like you have your dream job. Respect and defer, even when trust is lost. You'll work with plenty of jerks over your career. You may as well start practicing now.

3. You must keep yourself ready in anticipation
As soon as you start your engagement somewhere, you must start to collect references and recommendation letters from clients, peers, industry pros, well-wishers and local leaders. Keep a file of positive citations to your work too. Even more, focus on activities that position you to lead and produce measurable results. No one can take those experiences away from you. And they'll enhance your credibility when the next opportunity arises. You can restore your confidence too by revisiting the file and sometime, that works as an evidence of your past achievements.

4. Forging alliances is always good
You must re-examine yourself, your attitude and identify the job you eventually want. If you feel that you are not getting reconciled with the environment, you should get to know other players in your vicinity and try to grab lunch/snacks/tea with them. You may help them out during downtime to prove yourself. You can build a relationship with a mentor or your boss's own boss, too. They can provide direction, intelligence, and even a reference. Apart from that, you may get involved in corporate/social initiatives such as community or strategic planning. Since your boss, being superior in some respect, may have the power and network to blackball you, you must stay visible and broaden your circle to counter that.

5. You must not jump to conclusions
Sometimes, there is more going on than meets the eye. The higher-ups may veto your boss's efforts. Conditions change or mitigating circumstances emerge. Your boss probably has a full plate - and you may not be his or her top priority. And your boss may simply be unaware of his or her behavior and its impact on you.

You know! Management is often grueling and thankless. It may have different priorities. We all need someone to blame, but give your boss a little empathy. Don't mistake the person for the perception. They're usually far more complex than your caricature.

6. You must keep your boss in the loop
Everyone likes to feel like an expert and give back. Your boss is no different. Maybe you need to reel your boss closer, rather than pushing him or her away. Ask what traits or skills you need to develop to reach the next level and for specifics; look at establishing benchmarks to measure your growth. What's more, become a true partner with your boss.
You know your boss's flaws: Train yourself to ask the right questions, clarify, and work through the details. This is perfect training for what's really important in business: anticipation, flexibility, relationship-building, collaboration, and execution (not to mention making your boss look good).

7. Kindly Focus on the big picture
You must focus on gaining the right experience, building your interpersonal skills, and policing your attitude as it is possible that your boss may betray your trust, then tell you to stay positive. Your boss will chastise you for your behavior, then act the same way. Sure, you can quit, but have you gained anything besides self-repenting? Instead, make the most of your time useful.

You may have to absorb those daily humiliations. Most important, don't write off the messages you are getting, as they are lessons of your experience and may be helpful in the like later-on incidents . Your boss didn't reach this level by accident. Be open to criticisms and suggestions. You'll likely miss some valuable nuggets if you completely tune out your boss.

8. You must wait for proper time to hit back
If your boss really is a jerk, chances are that the clock is ticking on him or her. Charm, connections, and reputation only give bosses so much rope. They'll inevitably drop their guard and slip up with someone higher up - and it won't be pretty.
In the meantime, view yourself not depressed with all the upheavals. You have bigger things ahead of you and you can cure a number of your ailments by shredding off your worries by changing your attitude and gaining pleasures of your boss.
Be Happy – Keep Your Boss Happy