How to Build a Stronger Relationship With Your Boss: Part 1

Putting effort into establishing and maintaining a healthy manager-employee relationship can improve your overall workplace experience. Here is one way employees can build a stronger relationship with their manager. 

Transcript 

Having a healthy manager-employee relationship is key to workplace success and feeling comfortable in your role. However, building this relationship requires time and nurturing. While this alliance needs effort from both sides, here are some steps employees can take to establish a flourishing partnership with their manager. 

Have a Conversation, Not an Interview

Getting to know someone better ultimately comes through conversation and improved communication. These conversations should be fluid and organic instead of question, after question, after question. It’s easy to switch into interview mode and ask your manager a dozen questions with little to no elaboration on their answer. 

Here is how you don’t want to interrogate your manager while trying to get to know them better:

Employee: “Hey! I hope your week is off to a good start. Do you like Mondays? Or do you hate them like most people?”

Manager: “I definitely don’t love them. When I take long weekends, I prefer to take Mondays off over Fridays.”

Employee: “Me too. Are you taking any time off for the summer?” 

Manager: “Yeah, actually I’ll be out of town the week after next.”

Employee: “Cool, where are you going?”

Manager: “I’m visiting my parents in Pennsylvania.”

Employee: “Nice, which city do they live in?”

Instead of asking question after question, try to elaborate on what your manager says to show that you're listening and that you care, even if it seems like a trivial topic. 

Here is a better example: 

Employee: “Hey! I hope your week is off to a good start. Did you have to drive through that crazy storm this morning?” 

Manager: “Yeah, I did! But I think I didn’t hit the worst of it. I still got pretty drenched, though.” 

Employee: “Me too, I need to remember to carry an umbrella with me!”

Manager: “I know, I always forget to carry one! And then if I do remember, I always leave it behind.”

Employee: “I do that too!”

Talking about the weather can definitely feel mundane, but in this conversation, you created a stronger bond with your manager. You listened to what they had to say, provided an insightful response, added in some information about you, and even included some humor. Both you and your manager can better understand each other, even if it’s in a miniscule way. And hey, maybe your next holiday bonus will be an umbrella instead of a gift card.

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