Here are some ideas that may help you to communicate more effectively with your boss.
1. Schedule time to talk with your boss one on one. Get a sense of his or her personality and when it is alright to approach your boss to talk. Make an effort to how to best communicate with him or her. Bosses are people doing their job just like you are.
2. Bring problems to them in person and in private. Don't challenge them openly, in front of co-workers or other management.
3. Let them know that you appreciate the things they do and how difficult many of their decisions are.
4. If you disagree with a new procedure or rule, go to them with alternatives and solutions, not recriminations and bad attitude.
5. Do your job as a professional and build a reputation as someone who gets things done without complaint or problems. This type of reputation will give you credibility with your superiors that you cannot achieve in any other way. It also allows you to disagree sometimes, without coming off as a trouble maker.
6. Learn to pick your battles. There are times when it is just better to keep quiet and do what you are told. Not every battle is worth fighting and winning can cost you more in the end than the battle was worth.
7. Take responsibility for your mistakes and show your boss that you are big enough to admit when you are wrong.
8. Realize that bosses can have bad days too. Let them know that you support and understand them.
9. Be a team player, bring positive information to your boss about co-workers or jobs well done and not always complaints and difficulties. Commiserate with them about a tough day or reminisce about common experiences that you shared on the job.
10. Don't go over their heads without talking to them about it first. No one likes it when people go behind their backs. You wouldn't like it and your boss won't either.