Making a good impression with a new manager is just as important as keeping your current boss onside. There’s no need to brown-nose but you can always work on improving your relationship with your manager. We’ve stumbled across an article with some excellent advise on phrases to use in conversation with the boss, and we’ve pulled out some of the more powerful one to share with you.
How can I help/improve? and I’d like to learn more.
More often than not, managers hear, “that’s not my job” so it’s nice when a team player is willing to pitch in and step up to other duties. This shows the management team that you are ambitions, serious about progression and prepared to work on areas that need improvement.
I saw this as a problem, so here’s some solutions I’ve come up with.
Many managers are dealt problems and expected to come up with solutions. Give your boss a break and come to him/her with some solutions. They may use them, they may not. Either way, you’ve put some thought and effort into the issue – it won’t go unrecognised.
I wanted to talk to you before I booked a holiday.
Booking a holiday then telling your boss is common practice for many employees. Show your manager some courtesy and sit with them before booking. If you’re flexible with your holidays and don’t need to go at a specific time you can negotiate with your employer and they’ll be grateful.
I’ll get that done by…
This is accountability and responsibility at it’s best. If you can put a time frame on a task you need to get done, you’re most likely to have your manager’s respect and trust. If you report back that the task has been completed, well that’s just the icing on the cake. Vince Lombardi says that perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
I saw X needed to be done, so I did it.
If you’re self driven and don’t need to be micro-managed, you’re a breath of fresh air. The boss has plenty of other staff they need to manage so if you are identifying things around the dealership that need changing or fixing or simply just need to be done, just do them. Make sure you let them know it’s been done and ask for feedback on they way you did it.
Not a problem, I’ll take the lead on that/I’ll get that done
This demonstrates leadership and initiative, music to the ears of any manager.
If you can incorporate at least one of these into your conversations with your manager, they’ll notice. Anyone can do it, but if you’re not prepared to try, you can’t expect to reap the benefits. We relate it to this Henry Ford quote; “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
