You work on impressing your boss; there is no shame in it. After all, the boss holds much power over your promotion and salary. You do need to work with him for some time and as long as you are working for him, you might as well impress him to get to your career and financial objectives.

How do you impress your boss? Here are some classic ways in impressing your boss people tend to ignore.

1. Sell, Sell, Sell

There is no shame in selling. We all try to sell something everyday. Even trying to get a day off from the kids from my wife, I need to sell her the idea. See? So we all sell everyday.

If you don't sell your strengths and ideas to your boss, some one else will sell themselves to the boss. The ‘trick' is to be authentic.

Gently hint to the boss what you have done. Better yet, have someone else do it for you. Hearing it from a third party sometimes helps even more. So, whose ear does the boss have? Sell yourself to these people. They are likely to mention it to the boss.

2. Just Let Him Tell You "What"

The faster you figure out the answers to who, when, how and why, the faster you will be impressing your boss. Why? It's simple, he just needs to tell you what needs to be done and you are off running to complete the task for him. Imagine having to go through the whole process with you just for a simple task. It is also sending a strong signal to the boss you understand him.

3. Be Enthusiastic And Bring Energy

One of the biggest pet peeves of many bosses I know and have worked under is people who do not have the enthusiasm to work. They are sluggish for whatever the reason. There is no spunk in them. No energy. Bring constant enthusiasm and energy to work. That's one simple way to impressing your boss. Be eager when handed a task no matter how you hate it.

4. The Power Of You

Believe it! I am not just talking about there is one unique you. Yes, it is true. What I am referring to here is that YOU have the power to transform the company. Yes, just you alone. Be the energy. Protect the company's name. Snub out toxic people in the company. Limit the negative talk in the company. These are all things you can do. Bosses cannot make the place change alone. They can implement the policies but they will never be able to create a virtuous culture without you. Be on the boss's team, especially if you know the boss is a good boss and when there are too many toxic people around.

5. Don't Try To Impress

Here's the big secret in impressing your boss – don't. When you resort to tricks, manipulation and maneuvering, soon you will be found out. Work on delivering your work. That's the best way to impress your boss. Lead with authenticity not falsity.

6. Plan. Act. Monitor. Follow-up.

There are just too many people out there that try to impress the boss with talk, talk, talk. No – "do". Here's impressing your boss in four easy steps if the rest are just too tough for you. Plan your work. Have it written. Talk doesn't count. Act upon the plan with time-lines and action points. Monitor the workflow and have a work in progress report for your boss. Follow-up on the work in progress steps. You will be impressing you boss in no time.

7. Ask For THE Sexy Project.

What is the prominent big sexy project your boss will be working on? Ask to work on that with him. But make sure you know yourself first. Do you have what it takes to deliver? I recommend you read this Managing Yourself from Harvard Business Review.

Otherwise, work your way up. Ask for small ones, deliver, ask for bigger ones, deliver, and then ask for even bigger ones. Deliver. Then ask for that all time sexy one! And better damn deliver!

Impressing your boss can be easy. You just need to be mindful of the work and people around you. And not be afraid of hard work and being real no matter what people say.