Use this template to improve communication with your boss

I provide a four-part template that helps showcase your achievements, enhance communication with your boss, document your work progress, and clearly identify your support needs.

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." — George Bernard Shaw

Did you know that around half of employees feel like ineffective communication negatively impacts their productivity? It's easy to imagine that poor communication may lead to problems like misunderstandings, lack of clarity, and feeling unsupported. Consider a scenario where you're juggling multiple projects and perhaps feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to focus your efforts. Your boss may not realize this unless you provide an update or express your concerns. How can you professionally break down communication barriers and effectively share your workload and support needs? In this post, I'll introduce a four-part communication template that you can proactively implement today to enhance communication with your manager. You can use it for situations like weekly reports, or perhaps as an agenda during your one-on-one meeting.

Benefits

Some benefits of the template I'm going to share include:

• Proactive Communication - Take the initiative to keep your boss informed, ensuring they are aware of your progress and challenges.

• Recognition of Contributions - Highlight your achievements to bring attention to your hard work.

• Enhanced Clarity - A structured template helps you organize your message, making it easier to communicate your workload and progress.

• Increased Support - Clearly articulating your needs informs management what you need assistance with.

Template

Here is the template:

Team contributions:

• Assisted with Task One

• Supported Task Two

• Collaborated on Project XYZ

• Helped with Project ZYA

Current Projects:

• * Project 1: In-progress

  • Brief update on progress

• Project 2: In-progress

  • Key updates or challenges

• Project 3: Completed

  • General status with relevant summary

Workload for Next Week:

• Task 1: Due by X Time on Monday

• Task 2: Details, deadline

• Project 1: Ongoing

• Project 2 - Ongoing

• Project 3 - You get the idea...

• Routine Work - Brief mention of any relevant details.

Support Needed:

• Do we have someone that can help me with XYZ project/task?

• Am I the primary contact for ABC project? [Person’s name] in other department is asking for help with this. If I am the primary assistant, can we discuss prioritization?

• I need to discuss [Subject] due to [reasons]. I've de-prioritized this in favor of higher-priority projects.

• I would like to clarify requirements regarding [Project].

Conclusion

Effective communication is essential for success in the workplace. By implementing the suggested four-part communication template, you can enhance clarity, foster collaboration, align on objectives, and receive support. You can use this, for example, in your weekly reports and/or one-on-one meetings.