Think about the next Monday morning.
You have done a lot of progress over the weekend.
You say, "This will be a good week. I'm going to finish the pack early for her review. I'll be at least 3 days ahead of the reporting due date this time." You grin..
You get to your cubicle and turn on your laptop. You see your boss coming in, and you are ready to greet her with a big smile. She's going to be pleased when you show her your presentation pack tomorrow.
"Hey, morni.."
"Big boss just called. He wants to see the pack at 2pm today. Can you get Finance? We need to include the 5-year cost trending analysis. Send me the pack by 1.30pm, I'll take a look on my way there after picking up my son." Then she walks past you into her room.
Seriously, again? It was supposed to be reviewed on Friday!
Compare that you with this you.
Next Monday, you reach your cubicle, fresh and well rested over the relaxing weekend.
Your pack is ready since last week, maybe another review today before sharing it with your boss.
Then your boss walks by and drops you the ad-hoc job request bomb. Nothing new, you are ready for any unplanned job request. You respond to her calmly.
You know exactly what to say and within half an hour, you are in her office, working on getting the new data and analysis for the pack together.
When you go and see the big boss at 2pm, she defends what you both put into the presentation pack together.
Now, compound that synergy 5 times every week, over the next 6 months.
How many more KPIs and performance targets can you achieve this year, and even exceeding your boss' expectations?
How much does 1-level up in your year-end performance appraisal rating value to you?
You do the math.
"But I'm not okay with my boss.."
I remember how dreadful my working days were when I was not okay with my boss.
You see, in my most recent career risk assessment, "Bad relationship with the boss" still rated HIGH in jeopardizing job performance - which is likely to happen with major impact.
What that means is, if you do not nurture a peaceful and supportive working relationship with your boss, you most probably are not yet performing at your best potential at work.
The good news is, you can achieve so much more this year by just strengthening your rapport with your boss. So what can a strong rapport with your boss do for you?
Can it make your boss give you less irrelevant side projects? Yes.
Can it make your boss pay more attention to your contribution? Yes.
Can it make your boss treat you more respectfully? Yes.
Can it make your boss be more supportive of your career growth? Yes.
If you do nothing about your current relationship with your boss now, then all these will probably just remain as dreams for at least another year. So don't delay any longer. You don't have to struggle like this at work for even another week.
Hi, I'm Stephanie Cristal
By profession, I have helped multi-billion-dollar companies to strategize plans and exceed their business targets for years.
By ministry, I have had the privilege to serve God’s people for over a decade - the kids, youths, young adults, women, school and campus ministries - leading the Bible study, prayer, praise and worship, and discipleship group.
Why would I care about improving your career?
Because I don’t want you to dread through another quarter of struggling to do your job with your boss, missing more project deadlines, worrying about losing your job, and all the unpleasant working experiences which are far from what God has empowered you to enjoy.
I have been there. And I never look back after I got out of it.
Jesus calls us to be faithful and flavorful salt of the earth, especially right where we feel so lonely as a Christian. And we all know that doing poorly at work or not getting along well with people certainly does not make a good testimony of Christ.
Our ability to earn is God-given (Deuteronomy. 8:18), and we are to fully utilize our talent to glorify God (Matthew 25:14-30).
If you are ready to take your career to the next level - whether you are a newly hired young executive or a 5-year senior executive, avoiding these 3 Career Killer Mistakes and implementing these 7 key Promotion Levers will give a great boost to your career growth.
