My Gen Y Life

If anyone's opinion about your professional skills matters, it's your boss's. This person has the authority to review your work and could promote, demote, or fire you at a moment's notice. You might think you are in good standing with your boss, but have you won him/her over?

It's part strategy and part kindergarten methodology. You have to understand your boss's style. Is he/she an analytics person or a creative person? Tailor your reports to match. Is he/she casual or all business professional? Monitor what you say and do to complement that. Take time to observe all aspects of how your boss conducts business and how he/she rewards team members for their efforts.

The second part is the kindergarten methodology. Not much skills to this besides wanting to be "the favorite". Going above and beyond (albeit in actual deliverables, not letting yourself drone into massive overtime. Also see the 4-hour Workweek) is one of the most noticeable ways. Careful not to look too much like boss's pet though; other coworkers may notice and get catty about it if they feel you're not deserving of the attention.

Ultimately though the secret to winning over your boss can be summed up as -- making your boss look good. If you're on top of your game (and delivering what your boss has in mind) you will undoubtedly make your boss look better to the person he/she reports to, and in return you will be rewarded.

Some bosses will unfortunately take your good efforts and pirate them as their own, but what it comes down to is that you're reporting to him/her, whose responsibility it is to make sure things get done. I don't agree with this manager approach - I feel that a boss (or anyone) should always acknowledge others' contributions - but sometimes it's the start to getting noticed and winning over your boss. If this should continue to happen though for an extended period of time you might consider moving on!