How to Effectively Communicate with Your Boss

[Communicating With a Boss…Straight Talk That Won’t Get You Fired] 2004; 38-5: 365-66]

Newswise — Learning how to communicate and meet the needs of your boss may seem like an impossible task, but the key to the success of your organization is learning how and what you need to communicate to your boss. An article in the September/October issue of Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (BI&T) outlines how to translate what your boss needs and wants to hear into what they must hear.

Author Michael Staley is the director of biomedical engineering and asset management for Harris County Hospital District in Houston. He says understanding various aspects of your boss’s personality will have an influence on how he or she processes information and handles stress. These factors affect how you should communicate with him or her.

If “no” is not an acceptable answer to give to your boss, find ways to make it acceptable by backing it up with valid reasoning. If you tell your boss a certain course of action isn’t working, have alternative options ready. This will not only reduce your boss’s stress, but yours as well.

The article also emphasizes the importance of credibility. Your boss’s decisions are made based on the information you give them. If he or she can trust the information you provide them, your organization benefits because decisions are made with the best possible information.

To read the entire article, click here:
http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/CEM.pdf

To subscribe to BI&T, click here:
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BI&T is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed journal published by the Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. For more information, visit http://www.aami.org.