Would you agree that managing your boss well is a perennial issue: there is never a moment when your boss is not a relevant element in your work life. So let me ask you: how well do you get along with your line manager? Do you feel adequately valued by your boss? Do you think your boss understands you? Do you trust him/her? Can you go to him/her with your issues and get a helpful steer? Do you believe your boss will facilitate your career development beyond today's role?

The statistics say that the principal reason why staff resign is because they do not get along with their managers. So if you're thinking of calling the headhunters because you and your boss are at drawn daggers or even if you're a tad unsure about where you stand with your boss, you might find this simple four-part model to improve your relationship with your boss useful.

The model is called....'BOSS'© and its name is also an acronym for its four components, starting with 'B' for beliefs. At that stage, it is about examining the views your hold about bosses in general. Some of us are naturally respectful of figures in positions of authority while others struggle with direction which they interpret as interference. By understanding the mindset which you bring to our relationships with all line managers, you are taking the first step to decode your current one.

The second step in the 'B' stage is to look at your opinion of this particular line manager and for each component of that view, to look at the evidence for that conclusion. For example, if you said that one of the character traits which you dislike about your boss is his lack of decisiveness, then I would ask you for examples of your boss being indecisive. That way, we move away from just subjective views to fact-based findings. Whatever improvement is needed to your relationship with your boss, it is important to deal with actual behaviours rather than vague impressions. Gradually, by making sure we focus on who your boss really does, or says, or does not do or does not say, we will decode what kind of manager this person is, which will provide the foundation for action planning later on.

Next we move on to discuss the relationship - from your boss's point of view - that's 'O' for who that 'Other' person is. In the preceding stage, we looked at your view, which we can call the first position. Now it's time to look at the relationship from the second position. To start you looking at your boss from a different angle, let me encourage you to discuss your line manager with others and see if they reach similar conclusions to yours. Or they may observe the same behaviour but react to it differently than you do. An example here: your boss appears unhappy when you join meetings a few minutes after the appointed time and you resent his remarks on your lateness. When you speak to a colleague and mention this, your colleague points out that your line manager values punctuality. You have now two points of view to consider: yours, which is that being exactly on time is unimportant and that of your boss, which is that punctuality is essential and a mark of effectiveness.

It may also make sense to imagine yourself in your boss' shoes. What do you know of the pressures she is under? Take a pen and paper and take your best guess as to what this individual thinks, feels, hopes for, fears or stays awake at night for. Then step back: do you two have anything in common? I would like to engage your capacity for empathy in approaching this other person, your boss.

It is also at the 'O' stage that, with the benefit of both perspectives, we establish what mismanagement style your boss truly has. Let me make an important point here: this is not an exercise in blame. Many of us are promoted into positions of management without natural talent to start with and very little in the way of available training to develop your managerial abilities.

The third step in the BOSS© model is 'S' which stands for 'Stop', as in 'bus stop'. I am sure this is puzzling so let me tell you what this metaphor is about. Imagine you want someone to come somewhere with you and you see them across the street. What do you do? Do you shout across the street? Or do you cross the street and go to where the person is, to their "bus stop"? Once you are together at the same "bus stop", you can agree to go on a journey together and then board the same bus. The 'bus stop' metaphor is about looking at the situation from a third perspective, that of the dispassionate observer.

We have gradually moved from your opinion, to facts and other ways of interpreting your boss. Now we can start looking at the gap between you and your boss and how it could be closed so that you two eventually come to stand at the same "bus stop" and then board the same bus to head out on the same journey. Using the information we gleaned in the previous two stages, we can get an objective view of the problem. Clarifying what the issue or issues is or are is a key step in order to achieve an unruffled view and thus get a clear head for looking at solutions.

Another way to look at this process through the BOSS© model is to think that, at the 'B' stage, all you care about is your view, while, at 'O', you challenge yourself to care more about your boss. At the first 'S', you must work towards caring less. Managing your emotions may seem very touchy-feely but, when a relationship is on the rocks, emotions tend to get in the way so lessening the emotional intensity is fundamental to opening your mind to fresh ideas and ways of behaving.

So we are now ready for the final stage - which is another 'S', for 'Solution'. We will establish what part you can play to improve that relationship. Let us return to the example of your discontent over your line manager's nagging about your constant lateness. This was your view and the fact was that your boss did make a remark every time you walked in last into a meeting room. However, at 'O', we saw that this was the product of a difference in values: your manager values punctuality while you have a more casual attitude to it. Where do you go from now? You don't need to start valuing punctuality but maybe you could choose to be more mindful of your boss's opinion about punctuality. If you did that, what might happen? Your boss would notice, the sniping remarks would end and.. the air would start clearing, would it not? This might pave the way for further improvement. At the solution stage, we start by looking for quick wins which have the benefit of shifting the mood between you and your line manager and facilitate dealing with tougher issues.

More generally, whatever steps you decide to take towards improving your relationship with your boss, make it easy on him or her by leveraging the insights you have gained in the previous stages of the BOSS© model and tailoring your initiatives to the kind of person your manager is. It may of course make sense to enlist the help of others to complement your own actions.

So there you have it! I hope that this quick review of the BOSS© model will have been helpful to you. An unhappy relationship with a line manager is cause for great frustration at work so whatever upgrade you will achieve should bring about a great sense of relief and accomplishment.

To your success!

Alexandra helps ambitious and high-performing professionals tackle their frustration at work so that they resolve a complex problem, get out of a difficult situation or achieve a personally-meaningful objective.

As a Career Accelerator, Alexandra works with gifted individuals to obtain the promotion they deserve, orchestrate an in-house move to a different group, succeed fast in a new role as well as get clear about their next job and how to find it.

Alexandra's clients get to do more interesting work which they enjoy, avoid becoming stuck in one job when in fact they want variety, and learn to lead and work through others if they wish to. That way, they make a greater difference to their firm and, of course, grow their income!

Alexandra will share with you stories and insights from her gratifying but eventful 23-year career in global finance, from Paris to the City of London via New York's Wall Street which you can use to accelerate your career faster than on your own!

Alexandra shares free career tips on her website at http://www.coachingforinspiration.com.