By Chelsea Babin

You can get on your boss’ good side without sucking up. Which is good news if you want to be eligible for raises and promotions at your current company or if you want positive references for future positions. If you want to make a good impression at work and advance your career, follow these 6 easy steps and get on your boss’ good side.

1. Build a Foundation of Consistency and Reliability: The first and easiest step to getting on your boss’ good side is to build a foundation of consistency and reliability. If your boss looks at you as reliable, dependable, and someone who consistently delivers the results they’re looking for it will be hard for you to ever be on their bad side. Overlooking this step is ill advised because, if you’re not consistent and reliable with your work, following the rest of these steps may not make a big difference.

2. Regular Communication: Whether you have an idea for a way to streamline a process or project or you just ask how their weekend was, establishing regular, frequent lines of communication with your boss can help you get on and stay on their good side. Even the smallest conversations add up overtime and lead to a friendlier, more concrete relationship.

3. Align Your Work Style: The way you work is very personal and the same thing applies to your boss. Observe their work style and see if yours meshes or clashes with theirs. Even if your work style works well for you, it may not work well for your boss or the office at large. Make sure you align your work style with your boss’ if you want to get on their good side.

4. Find Ways to Make Their Life Easier: If your boss has an overloaded calendar, you should do your best to find ways to make their life easier without making your life too much more difficult. Go above and beyond to make meetings more efficient, to lend a hand on projects that are falling behind, or to update them on project progress before they have to ask for that information.

5. Set Boundaries and Stay Motivated: While you want to go above and beyond, you also want to set boundaries before work starts bleeding too much into your personal time and leads to burnout. Set boundaries with your work and stay motivated. Your positivity, productivity, and highly motivated attitude will go a long way towards making a great impression on your boss.

6. Express Interest in Growth and Development: If you want to get on your boss’ good side, make sure they know you’re the kind of person who thinks about the future, has aspirations, and sets goals. Express your interest in growth and development at the company and regularly set and meet goals. This will show your boss that you’re dedicated, motivated, and someone to pay attention to for future opportunities.

You don’t need to suck up to your boss, you just need to follow these 6 steps if you want to get on their good side. As you can see, consistency, reliability, ambition, and regular conversation can go a long way towards making a positive impression that will benefit your career.