Questions That Smart Employees—and Bosses—Ask
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Questions to Ask Your Boss: Collective Opinion
"What do your peers say about me?" -
Questions to Ask Your Boss: Alignment Adjustment
"Whom should I be working with more closely?" -
Questions to Ask Your Boss: Bad Form
"Which parts of my style concern you the most?" -
Questions to Ask Your Boss: Higher Up
"If your boss were to give me one piece of advice, what would it be?" -
Questions to Ask Your Boss: Goal-Oriented
"What specifically do I need to work on to be ready for (insert job or assignment of interest here)?" -
Questions Your Boss Should Ask You: Self-Motivation
"What energizes you about working here?" -
Questions Your Boss Should Ask You: Super Skills
"If you were a superhero, what powers would you have and how would they help our company?" -
Questions Your Boss Should Ask You: Contact Connection
"How many people in your professional network would leave their jobs to join you as a leader in a new company?" -
Questions Your Boss Should Ask You: Fixer-Upper
"What have you done to address work problems that have frustrated you?" -
Questions Your Boss Should Ask You: Personal Signature
"Harley Davidsons make a unique sound to differentiate them. What 'sound' distinguishes you as a professional?"
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.