Here's how you can anticipate and meet your boss's needs and expectations.

‏To anticipate and meet your boss's needs and expectations, practice proactive communication and attentiveness. Regularly check in to understand their priorities and preferences. Pay attention to their work habits and feedback to gauge what they value most. Stay organized and prepared, anticipating potential challenges and solutions before they arise. By aligning your efforts with their goals and demonstrating initiative, you can build trust and effectively support your boss’s vision and objectives.

If you don’t understand the goals of your boss, how can you ever expect to meet them? Seek clarity and request clear written goals and expectations. This will allow you to plan accordingly.

Understanding your boss and their ways can be a great way to get a better understanding. Even if you don’t agree with or like everything, it is a great way to gain knowledge and understanding.

Effective, consistent communication is key. Ensure key information is written (email) - this ensures there is no misunderstanding. Let’s face it from the perspective of your boss - if it isn’t written down; did it even happen?

To communicate effectively with your boss, particularly when discussing challenging topics, consider using the following five groups of questions: Timing and Objectives: Ensure alignment with strategy and priorities. Stakeholder Landscape: Address all relevant parties. Superordinate Role/Support: Clarify roles, communication channels, and intervention scenarios. Resource Support: Request needed resources upfront and plan for additional needs. Ongoing Communications: Establish regular communication patterns and urgent matter protocols. Prepare thoroughly, choose the right time, be clear, listen actively, and follow up.

Prioritisation is key to effective operations. Prioritise tasks that are more urgent and those with shorter timeframes to show got ability to your boss to do this. Failing to meet deadlines and failure to prioritise more important tasks is a sure way to fail to impress your boss. If you would like training or support to learn the best way to do this, please don’t be afraid to ask for assistance and training to improve with this.

Feedback is key to constant and ongoing improvement - both for the business and for you personally. It allows you to reflect on and adapt your behaviour where required, and a willingness to do so is sure to impress your boss.