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It’s no longer enough these days to work like a demon and rely on your God-given talents to make the grade at work. You need to get under your supervisor’s skin and become a boss-o-meter. “Find out everything about your boss,” says Harvey Mackay, author of Pushing the Envelope (Bollantine, 1999). “Your antenna should be up all the time.” We asked a crop of career experts for their best boss decoder tips that will have the head honcho congratulating herself for hiring the indispensable you.

1. Be a Boss Detective
Get the inside edge by setting your work clock to match hers. “Analyze her energy cycles,” advises Harry Chambers, author of Getting Promoted (Perseus Books, 1999). “If you know she’s at her best in the morning, approach her then, when you need quality input. On the other hand, if you want a quick green light on a project, approach her when she’s at an energy low—but not cranky. She will be less apt to scrutinize the details.” (You might even keep tabs on your bosses’ menstrual cycles if you know she’s poison when PMSing).

Super sleuthing employees keep track of their bosses’ passions and hobbies. The payoff: She’ll be awed by your attention and impressed by your memory.

Hormones and habits aside, a final way to put yourself in supreme position motion is to figure out “how much your boss wants to know,” says Marjorie Brody, author of Profession Impressions…Etiquette for Everyone, Everyday (Rhodes & Easton, 1999). Does she want a progress report each step of the way through a project, or would it be something mental: Would she press only a recap even if it’s a complete read?

Also study her most valuable pointers for the qualities she prizes most. Conduct a mental survey of the people she’s promoted. Are they work factories? Unflappable with deadlines? Brilliant at courting clients? Whenever the common denominator, develop and endear yourself to her.

2. Scope Out Her Speech
Listen not only to what she says but also how she says it. Slow deliberate talkers are perfectionists, explains Lona O’Connor, author of The Top Ten Dumb Career Mistakes…and How to Avoid Them (VGM Career Horizons, 1998). Proofread religiously with this boss. A speed-talker, however, is likely to be bottom line-based. Bag the long wind up and just give her the facts.

Also subject her speech to this cool scan. Bosses tend to talk in one of three styles: visual (they use phrases such as “I see” or “I can’t picture that”), auditory (“I hear our margins are up”), or feeling (“I feel our last presentation went well”), says Sam Deep, author of Close the Deal (Perseus Books, 1999). Whenever possible, mirror the words and phrases your boss uses (it also never hurts to bring in visual aids when presenting an idea to a “visual” boss). She won’t know why she thinks you “get it,” all she knows is that you do.

3. Read Her Body Language
“More than 90 percent of communication between people is non-verbal,” says Brody. “Listen with your ears and your eyes.” So when your boss calls you into her office for an unscheduled one-on-one, how can you tell whether you’re in favor or flubbing? One clue that’s something fishy: “If she touches her face or rubs her eye with her left index finger, that’s usually a sign she’s lying,” says Jan Hargrave, author of Let Me See Your Body Talk (Kendall/Hunt, 1995). If she takes off her glasses or takes a sip of water, that can also indicate nervousness. “Look at President Clinton’s Lewinsky testimony,” says Hargrave. “How many times did he sip that Coke? He was clearly stalling for time.”

And never invade your bosses’ personal space—don’t stand too close to her (keep at least four feet between you, if possible) or barge into her office. Even if you have the world’s quickest question, always ask, “Do you have a minute?” first.

4. Observe Her Office
“Offices give great clues as to who we are,” says Lois Frankel, author of Jump Start Your Career (Three Rivers, 1998). “The boss with the super neat office is—no surprise—a control freak while the boss with lots of family pictures will love socializing.” And don’t overlook desk analysis. “Bosses with fortress desks—covered with very tidy piles—love employees who are super organized,” says O’Connor. The boss whose desk looks like a prop from twister is one who changes her mind often, so go with the flow. Learn to anticipate the needs and mercurial mood changes of these hurricane bosses and soon a memo announcing your promotion just may be one of those thousands of papers on her desk.

5. Schmooze It or Lose It
There’s a difference between those who kiss up smart and those who shamelessly kiss ass. The latter throw out tons of compliments that undermine their trustworthiness—if the boss knows she’s a horrible writer and you say her reports are the best thing since Viagra, she’s going to doubt your sincerity. Smart schmoozers on the other hand, use compliments sparingly and limit them to the areas where your boss herself knows she excels.

What to talk about? All those nuggets of information your powers observation have reaped. Know her oldest boy is a baseball freak and just spotted an announcement of a surprise tournament in today’s paper? Pass it along, and voila—you’ve garnered bonus points for being observant and considerate. TV shows, industry-related topics, and books are all fabulous fodder. Topics to avoid: politics, salaries, and any subject that is too personal, such as how she’s dealing with her divorce or how great she looks since she lost that ton of weight. You get the picture.

When to chitchat: Let your boss initiate any extracurricular conversations. If she passes you in the hallway or out the door and asks how you are, limit your response in a few words. If you’re stuck together for longer, such as an elevator, comment on something harmless, like the weather, that doesn’t require a response. If, on the other hand, she asks you about your weekend, keep your answers short. (This is not the time to go into your gyne exam from hell). Always let her control the length and tone of the conversation. One definite no-no: bathroom bantering, in which you try to strike up a normal conversation while in an adjacent stall. Yes, we have heard of this, and it doesn’t get you noticed in a good way.

And remember, just because your boss lets her hair down with you one day it doesn’t mean you pick up where you left off the next. “Say your boss is super friendly to you at the Christmas party. Make sure you are back to being professional the next day,” advises Tina Santi Flahert, author of Talk Your Way to the Top (1999). Before you know it, you’ll be the boss employees are trying to read.