Justin Angsuwat, vice president of people at Thumbtack, an online platform that connects users with local professionals, knows a bit about employees trying hard to impress the boss. As the former head of HR for Google's go-to-market functions, he has seen many employees who said yes all the time.
"We rarely reward people who just seem busy," Angsuwat said. "We would rather reward those who are having an impact through the work they do."
It's not about clocking in countless hours, but about the results achieved.
"The single best way to impress your boss is showing you can prioritize the things that matter and then executing well on those things," Angsuwat said.
And to do things right, that might mean telling the boss no.
"The key to impressing your boss is not doing lots of things, but doing the right things," Angsuwat said. "Ultimately, it's being able to answer the question, 'What impact am I having?'"