“Knowing where you stand” is an important element in assuring a satisfactory business relationship.

Hopefully, you are clear about your status and how you perform, but my experience is that we are never 100% accurate. Some effort to gain more insight always helps.

In my capacity as a human resources operative, I often talked with folks who were unhappy with their circumstances. Frequently, the main seed of the discontent was the notion that they were misunderstood in their leader’s eyes.

Upon questioning, the notion was based on incidents and ideas that weren’t supported by the facts. In fact, it frequently wasn’t a certainty at all.

The notion was based upon “a feeling.”

I value courageous communication, and this is one area where it can really count. It’s courageous to go to your boss and ask, “How am I doing?”

You will learn things:

• You may learn that you do a good job, but you’re perceived as “a little lazy.”
  And that laziness made the boss think you are an underachiever. Happened to me.
• You may learn that what you think is an acceptable level of “winging it” as you do your job is perceived as “disorganized.”
  And that as long as you are perceived that way, you won’t get a bigger assignment. It happened to me.
• You may learn that what you think is something that you do as a routine thing is a highly valued skill by your boss.
  Thus, you employ the skill all the more, and your service to the company as well as your value grows. It happened to me.

When you ask how you’re doing, be prepared for anything. Listen intently.

Devise an action plan and put it to work.

Most people don’t have the courage to do so. Those who are committed to “happening to the world” will do so.

-Howe Q. Wallace Jr