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If you're trying to get ahead in business, it is important to be liked by the people that can help (or hinder) your efforts. Friendship is not mandatory; friendliness is imperative. Complimenting and offering assistance to your supervisor may seem like "kissing up", but those that do it with sincerity (or at least appear to be sincere) tend to create a climate that supports their advancement.

Regardless of whether you consider it kissing up or being friendly, it is nothing more than a display of submissive behavior. Displace for a moment the connotations that connect submissive behavior with weakness. To say that you have a boss means that you acknowledge the presence of a hierarchy; as a stipulation of your employment, you are subordinate to someone else. Behaving thusly exhibits your ability to fulfill that very basic (but very important) part of your job description. Constant displays of subordination are not necessary, but when done at the appropriate time, they convey to your employer the message that you are able to say, "Yes sir" if that is what is required at a given time.

If the supervisor views you favorably, he or she will treat you accordingly. Interacting with your employer in a friendly manner could increase the chance that you would be viewed as a person, rather than as a faceless drone. This would most certainly give you additional leverage when an opportunity for advancement arises and your supervisor's recommendation is required, for example.

Sincerity is the key. You should never feel badly about being nice to your boss or volunteering for extra work, as long as your hopes for advancement are not the sole motivation for your actions. There's something distasteful about false friendliness. If you can't fake it, then just be yourself...or find yourself a job that doesn't involve interacting with people.

Learn more about this author, Steven Washington.
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