Well, many people fear their bosses and the majority actually hate their bosses because they feel that they give them too much pressure or don’t give them enough credit for the work they do. Your boss is a human being just like you and there is no need of imbibing fear into how you relate with him/her. Most times we don’t know what they are going through and we end up having clouded judgment about them. Imagine delegating work and coming back to hear a thousand excuses of why they didn’t complete the work on time, or someone always ignoring the organization’s rules and doing things their own way. This would really frustrate you, and most times our bosses feel that way because they do their best to keep everyone’s nose on the grindstone to enable the business to remain as a going concern yet others take their (bosses) efforts for granted.

Here are a few things you can do to establish a good rapport with your boss:

• Take ownership of tasks assigned- whenever work is delegated to you, you should see to it that it is complete and do your best to ensure it is of good quality. Your boss should not keep following you or reminding you all the time to do something, he probably has more important things to attend to. If you take ownership, you take the work as a personal goal that you need to accomplish, this way, you will avoid failing and you and your boss will never cross paths as he feels confident to give you work because he knows you will accomplish the task.
• Be swift- Laziness is a big enemy that could cost you an immeasurable amount of wealth. Everyone likes their work done within the shortest time possible so that they can focus on other things. Once you have a clear to-do list, you should execute them in order of priority to ensure you beat deadlines and avoid forgetting important tasks. Bosses like people they can rely on, this means they can promise a client to deliver something within a specific timeline because they have faith in you, that you will execute the task fast and efficiently.
• Take their feedback positively- If your boss shouts at you at any point, or tells you something mean, you should take lessons from it to avoid being in a similar situation again. Ask yourself ‘where did I go wrong?’ Once you realize your mistake you will work on not repeating it again and eventually get rid of all the traits that possibly annoy your boss. This gets rid of the probability of you finding yourself in a fix with your boss. Most importantly, don’t be the type of person who gets angry at the slightest inconvenience, this is a very toxic trait that creates a negative environment for you and everyone around you.
• Don’t fear your boss, respect him- Most of the time we make the mistake of fearing our bosses and that is why we are not able to establish a close-knit relationship with them, we fear walking to their office and telling them what is on our mind and we end up living in the dark. We should instead respect them just as we should respect everyone else, and remember that they are human just like us and cannot eat us up alive. Being bold gives you confidence and helps you create a good rapport with literally anybody.
• Take the initiative- You should not always wait to be told what to do. You should be able to identify areas that need improvement and work towards achieving continuous improvement. This means you are self-driven and competent enough to identify risks and opportunities and can help to streamline the organization. Bosses like people who help push the organization on an upward trajectory.
• Punctuality is very important- A punctual person is probably the most reliable employee as he/she is able to meet deadlines and also arrive at meetings and events at the expected time. This means work is done swiftly and no time is wasted thus this paints a very good picture of the employee and the firm as a whole. Your boss is likely to get mad at you for always being late, but if you are punctual? Well, you avoid annoying him and you effectively accomplish tasks.
• Good interpersonal relationships- The bottom line is that you should be a good human being, stop talking rudely to people, stop underestimating people, stop rolling your eyes when someone is talking to you, treat everyone with equity, stop taking credit for work that you have not done, and be helpful towards everyone irrespective of their title. Relating well with colleagues automatically enables you to relate well with your boss because you don’t portray toxic traits that nobody would want to deal with.
• Follow the organization’s rules and procedures- You should make an effort to do things the right way so as to stay on a clear path. Use the right email etiquette, dress well, follow the organization’s procedures, and ensure you make it a habit to stick to that path. You and your boss would never be on bad terms if you do the right thing at the right time and place.