Hi Thesysthink
I have been working in different industries and work cultures for 8 years now.. Some of the things that I learnt over the years which keeps me in tune with my boss.
The Boss as Client
This concept, I picked up when I was with GATI. There during one of our training sessions they taught us the concept of external and internal customers. Though this concept is applicable for all internal customers i am highlighting Boss as the topic discussed. I being a marketing guy, i immediately understood the concept of client. You have to give what the Client requires, it is his requirement, you cannot argue with him, all you can to is suggest. It is upto the client to accept / reject your suggestions. Take it this way and you will never again feel disheartened even if your boss rejects some of your proposals/suggestions.
Begin the relationship on the right foot.
The most important of any relations is to have a right start. Find out the KRA of your post from the horses mouth. Don't stick to the employee manual. Talk to your boss of what he thinks is the KRA, what are the best practices according to him [not according to the manual]. This will help you in being in sync with him, and your output will be according to his requirement. This will keep both of you satisfied with your work
Have regular meetings.
Well every boss likes to have an idea about what is happening and what needs to be done. Right number of meetings at right time would keep both of you abreast about what is being done and what needs to be done.
Try to understand your boss
In case you think that the particular work assigned to you is not actually your work, try to think why your boss has given you that work. Try to think like your boss and you will understand most of his actions. This will keep both of you in sync with eachother
Communicate effectively
For some years I worked under a retired Colonel and we had this very strong communication system. With every instruction given by him, he would ask us to repeat what we understand of the instruction and we had to explain in our own words. And in initial days, lots of time it so happened that there was communication gap. Try and see the military communication loop and you will understand what it means. It is one of the best communication method. Specially the reconfirm part
Tell your boss what you need
This again I learnt from Colonel. He used to say to us that while commanding in army, he always felt his job to take care of his man. At the same time he said that he is no God and cannot know what the employees want unless they ask for it. From that day onwards, I simply approach the boss whenever I need anything. [hey only the really important things, not everything]
I know that this is a Humour section but this post is really serious..