You’ve asked to meet with your boss to clarify expectations and goals, and you are feeling a little stressed with the additional projects that you have been asked to take on. Show your resilience and creative thinking under pressure. That all-important can-do attitude paves the way to a productive discussion. They believe you can solve problems, now is the time to discuss how.

This is a great opportunity to suggest changes because your boss wants to listen to what you have to say. Your views are important. He/she granting you the time to discuss your concerns and ideas is proof of this. A little preparation, with points on paper to serve as a context will impress him/her with your sense of organization, analytical thinking, and creative input.

Develop clear talking points to explore the issues and options.

Decide what your objectives are going into the discussion:

• Being able to fulfill the company’s performance expectations
• Managing the demands made on your time in different areas of responsibility
• Ensuring that your work is completed on time
• Deciding what the company wants to prioritize and in what order
• Discussing the resources available to use or needed to complete objectives

Your boss is going to expect you to:

• Outline the problems concisely and with clarity
• Show a willingness to work through them
• Propose a plan of action and bring forward ideas and options
• Be receptive to constructive criticism if it is forthcoming
• Suggest a follow up to provide feedback on changes that are mutually agreed on

You want to be solution focused in your approach. It is important that your boss sees your confidence in tackling the problems because every business has these challenges in one form or another.

Your intention is key to a successful meeting.

You want to come away from the meeting with a shared understanding of the company’s expectations and goals, and the part you play in making those objectives happen.

“Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.” – Abraham Lincoln