I’m working for the best boss I’ve ever had. In the past couple of months she’s gone to bat for me twice in ways that have really saved my butt.
In the first case, I recently found out that through some bureaucratic error that I wasn’t covered by our health insurance plan for the past two years. I spoke to the head of HR, who told me that I would be unable to get company coverage for another calendar year – the theory being that otherwise people could opt out of coverage until they discovered a health problem, enrol and pay their first month’s premium, and then stick the insurer for big medical bills. This made so much sense to me I never even considered appealing the decision (and I still don’t know whether an appeal was even possible). I explained the situation to my boss and didn’t even think of asking her to intervene. She talked to some people (and she’s way down the corporate food chain from the head of HR) and got me coverage the same week. I have no idea how she did it. But two weeks later I was in the ER with what would have been about a 3K bill.
And then just the other day, she discovered a major fuckup on my part. Basically I forgot to do something for someone else in the organization that might cause major problems. This other person found out and came screaming to her. She spun a story that I hadn’t done it for certain reasons at her direction, and she fixed the problem for the other person. She really could have hung me out to dry, and I would have deserved it. Her only instruction to me was to review my assignments and make sure this didn’t happen again.
Some of you might say, “That’s what a boss is supposed to do”. Maybe so, but none of my bosses ever went to bat for me like this.
So how do I thank her? A little background on her: she’s a nurse, married with three kids aged 7 - 12, very health conscious, very smart, lives on a farm and has a bunch of animals. I don’t know much about her personal life, hobbies or anything like that.
I’ve had a couple of bosses like that. Here’s how I thank them:
-Try to keep mistakes to a minimum.
-Rarely come late to work (maybe 2-3 times a year).
-Rarely, if ever, call in sick. Perfect attendance for a whole year is not unusual for me. One or two days a year is my max unless I give birth or have surgery.
-Go out of my way to get along with co-workers so my boss doesn’t have to spend time dealing with petty crap on my account.
-Have developed a reputation for being flexible about my schedule which also saves headaches for the boss. (This works out well for me too. Co-workers are much more agreeable about negotiating vacations and days off with me than with my more rigid peers.)
-Spend time composing a nice compliment about my boss to write in the response section of my annual evaluation. (One particularly nice boss told me I was the only person who did that and it meant a lot to her.)
Well, you get the idea. I figure the best way to thank a boss who makes my life easier is to do what I can to make his/her life easier.
You say, “Thanks so much for coming to bat for me. I really appreciate it and I won’t forget it.” Maybe make her some cookies to take home for the kids. That’s the only kind of gift you should be giving your boss.
It’s very sweet of you to want to give her something but it’s not appropriate. Just thank her sincerely.
I second the first two posts. Anything more will label you a suck-up and could be construed as underhandedness. Your boss is obviously pleased with your overall performance and felt that these couple incidents weren’t over and above what was due. Make sure you live up to her expectations.
I think it depends on you work environment, and the number of people who also consider your boss to be their boss. If you are the only person directly under you boss, then a small present to the bosses kids may be appropriate and not considered brown-nosing (cookies, a cool toy …) but realy a real commitment to try harder not to make mistakes and efforts to make the workplace more pleasant and productive are better. Tell the boss that you realy apreciated what she did for you, bring in a box of chocolates that everyone in your immediate group could share (if appropriate) but much more might look like brown-nosing.
If on the other hand a collegue (boss, equal, or underling) does something for you non work related and outside work, it is always appropriate IMHO to give them a present to say thankyou.
What if you composed a nice, professional letter? I’m thinking something along the lines of a letter of recommendation, but obviously not that. Just a formal thank you, that she can keep in her file. I doubt many bosses get formally thanked like that. You can be as detailed as you like, but I would try to be specific about why she’s a good boss.