Questions That Smart Employees—and Bosses—Ask

It's possible that you spend nearly as much time with your boss as you do your significant other. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly quality time for many employees, as one-third of workers surveyed said they are "somewhat" or "very" dissatisfied with their relationship with their supervisor, research shows. Nearly two out of five employees said their boss is "somewhat" or "very" uncaring about their career development, and 53 percent said their boss doesn't respect them as a professional. But savvy employees understand how to take charge of this relationship to cultivate a rewarding, mutually beneficial partnership. With this in mind, executive leadership speaker and coach Karin Hurt has come up with this list of smart questions to ask your boss. The questions are intended to draw out valuable insights from the management side, while demonstrating your initiative and credibility as a professional who should be taken seriously. As an added bonus, we've included questions from Hurt that forward-thinking supervisors should ask their employees. The following edited inquiries were compiled by Hurt for her blog, Let's Grow Leaders.