The secret to getting what you want from the boss

By John Kariuki

Charlotte Bahati works in a busy office where getting time to talk to the boss is an uphill task. But Bahati has found a way around it, a fact that has raised suspicion and salacious workplace gossip about her perceived methods of getting the boss’s ear.

Unbeknown to her colleagues, when she wants to ask her boss for anything, she doesn’t simply burst into his office with a litany of issues. Instead, she plans well and gauges his mood accurately. She knows that the worst time to request for official and personal favours is on Monday morning and Friday afternoon. On Mondays the boss is often in a foul mood and on Fridays he checks out early.

Bahati says that it pays to investigate when a European team that he supports wins matches and take advantage of his buoyant mood. A perfunctory enquiry about his family also works well with her boss. But even then she comes straight to the point when making requests.

Reading the boss

"I have seen some of my colleagues get it all wrong by going to him when internal auditors and systems compliance inspectors are around," she says.

Equally shocking, adds Bahati, are the employees who camp outside their boss’ office to vex them with simple issues when he has been chairing day-long crisis meeting.

According to human resources practitioners, knowing your boss’ work objectives and thinking along the same line is the way to his heart. The least that employees can do is to concern themselves with their bosses’ objectives so that you can make them succeed. By doing this, both the juniors and seniors will work harmoniously.

Daniel Muriithi, a human resource manager with one financial institution, says that the bosses’ objectives are often directly tied with the goals of the company.

"These should cascade downwards to the employees if they want to sustain fruitful relationships," he says.

Muriithi advises employees to see the bigger picture, as their bosses expect, when making all their demands including routine leave of absence.

"It is imperative that one suggests ways of recovering time at his or her job when seeking leave of absence," says Muriithi. The boss will see this as responsibility and easily grant the permission. It is such simple steps that count a lot with a boss and he or she will be willing to grant even bigger favours.

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