How To Earn The Trust Of Your CEO

By Perminus Wainaina  

Do you feel frustrated every time you bring an idea to your CEO and it is not accepted?

Jane, a HR Manager, was doing everything she was expected to do. However, one thing troubled her. She felt her ideas were not put into consideration.

Earning the trust of your CEO begins with a good relationship between the two of you. However, it is not something that many consider imperative to excelling at the office. Study has however shown that your productivity as a human resource manager, is directly linked to the relationship you have with your superior –in this case, your CEO. Whether you are joining an organization or still at the same place you were at last year, this timely tips will come in handy for a smooth and easy time with your CEO.

Know their expectations

It is important to have clear discussions with your CEO at the start of the year and clarify areas that you are unsure about. Learn what items are on their agenda so that you don’t make mistakes that could have been avoided.

Discuss and share with your CEO your goals and major issues you have on your mind so that they are aware. Sometimes, their priorities might outdo your own; be flexible enough to accommodate these requests. Know what the CEO expects from you in terms of work performance and work diligently to meet or even go beyond those expectations.

Meet their deadlines

Deadlines in an organization are a necessary part of work because they help in proper planning. Deadlines help in aiding the smooth flow of work and lead to good performance. If you meet their deadlines, you will be in their good books. Be a good time manager. You can do this by:

–    Keeping a running list of your main tasks, projects, and deadlines.

–    Looking at the list regularly to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks

–    Breaking down big tasks into smaller units to make it easier to tackle them

In the event that you are working on a project and you anticipate not meeting the deadline, it is advisable to give your CEO a heads up in good time. Let them know that you are running late and discuss options available such as rescheduling your activities, negotiating on deadlines and getting support from others.

Be responsive and keep your CEO updated

CEOs prefer employees who are highly responsive to those who are slow. Different CEOs have different definitions about what being responsive means to them.

Some are comfortable with a weekly update; others prefer a daily update while others might even require an hourly update. When working on a project, update your boss on the progress at regular intervals. If you are not able to provide updates, let your boss know in advance.

Have regular meetings with them

It will create a good opportunity to discuss with them what you are working on, progress and accomplishments and any challenges that you are facing and at the end of it all you find things going well.

One-on-one meetings can be scheduled at various intervals such as daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly. A good interval will either be once a week or once every two weeks. Use these meetings as opportunities to get input and feedback from your boss on how you are performing and take good note of how you will improve. Take good notes during check-in meetings. As an integral part of the organization, prepare an agenda for each meeting and submit it to them prior to the meeting to give them a chance to review it and note down the points that they would like to discuss with you.

Be pro-active

This will fulfill your desire to be valued as an integral part of the business, and enable you to apply your strategic HR skills.

Being pro-active will also ensure that you act as a sound adviser by speaking the “CEO’s language.”

Not sure how to do this? Join our accredited CPD trainings that will teach you:

• How to become the HR Business Partner
• How to develop and implement a performance management system
• How to terminate an employment contract on account of redundancy among others.