Earning trust
Trust is absolutely critical in your relationship with your boss. Your boss needs to know (or at least feel) that there are no unpleasant surprises, especially public ones. Never violate the chain of command and go around her to confer with his or her superior without first clearing it. If your intuition or gut tells you that there is cause for concern, trust the feeling and check out what the person is doing and saying. Does she like you? perceive you as similar in some ways to her? consider you reliable and competent? recognize an obligation to you for valued favors? believe you are working hard on the things that matter most to her?