At a Loss With Your Boss? Starting Over at the Same Job

Startingover_nov2011_webMost of the time, workers have good relationships with their boss. A MSN-Zogby poll showed 58% of employees say they like their boss. But sometimes working relationships can strain and sour, which can make your job harder.

Whether it started with a disagreement, or built up over time because of frustrations with your manager’s constantly changing priorities, having a boss that you feel isn’t listening or respecting you can hinder your productivity and career. Here are some ways you can mend your working relationship with your supervisor and begin a fresh slate at work.

Be the Best You Can be
One of the best ways to repair work relationships is to step up your game. Your boss’ bonuses and performance reviews are based on how you and those you work with perform. If you make the extra effort to provide great results, go the extra mile, or volunteer to work on team projects, the benefits of your hard work will ease the tension and help restore communication and mutual respect.

By showing a willingness to work harder and produce better results, you will have proven success to lean on when you have difficult conversations. You can turn this challenge into an opportunity. Don’t let it stand between you, your boss, and your career. You may have to bite the bullet and be the one offering the hand of peace, but if you are producing good results at work, you are already prepping yourself to succeed.

Follow-up
While it’s important to be the one to instigate the willingness to repair tensions at work, it’s also important to follow up on your efforts. It could be beneficial to meet one-on-one with your manager if you feel like your boss isn’t treating you right. It will give you a chance to discuss what you are looking for and ways you can improve your work. It shows your willingness to learn, and after some good communication, circumstances should improve.

The key to making the dialogue work is to schedule follow-up meetings. After several weeks of working on the suggestions given to you, request a second meeting to see if your boss is satisfied with those changes. It shows managers that you value their opinion and are working hard to meet their requests.

Remember That Two Heads Are Better Than One
It can help to have an outsider’s opinion of the situation. Consider finding a mentor. If you feel like you’re not seeing eye to eye with your boss, talk to your trusted mentor. Hopefully they can give you some advice on how to deal with the conflict.  Having a reliable confidant to vent to will help you learn from their experiences when dealing with difficult managers and keep your thoughts in order before you accidentally say the wrong thing at work.

It’s never too late to start over with your boss. By following these tips, you can learn to understand where the conflict stems from and how to build a better working relationship from it. Who knows, you might even like your boss more after this. What are some ways you have made a fresh start in the workplace?

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