Managing up is a required skill in every job. Doing this well will allow you to advance your career and bring benefits to your team and the organization.
Before jumping into best practices for managing up, it is helpful to think about the prework you want to complete so you are in the best position to succeed.
Here are some critical aspects to uncover:
1. Know your leader’s communication style. Executive Coach Julie Kantor says, “some bosses readily explain to subordinates how and when they want to communicate. Others do better when offered multiple-choice questions. If your boss has not willingly told you, seek agreements on methods and cadence for updates. You can ask, how often do you want updates: daily, weekly, or only when I have something to report? Do you prefer phone, instant messaging, email, or face-to-face?” Getting this information clear will contribute to an excellent relationship, allowing for managing up to occur more easily. Also, maybe your boss prizes unstructured chat time before diving into the work, whereas you prefer having work updates first and chat time at the end if there is time because it is how you operate with your direct reports. It is better to adjust your style to fit your boss’ preference rather than impose your will.
1A. Understand their listener/reader style. You can adjust your style in response to your boss’ preferred method of receiving information. Peter Drucker, often described as the founder of modern management, divided bosses into “readers” and “listeners.” If your boss is a reader, they like to get information in report form so they can read and study it. In that case, you want to include important points in your memo and then discuss them. Others are listeners, they work better with hearing information presented and being able to ask questions immediately in real time. In this case, you may want to verbally share to have that back and forth and then follow up with notes of what has been discussed. This contributes to creating fertile ground for managing up to occur.
1B. Understand their preference for updates. Some bosses prefer to be involved in decisions and problems as they arise. These are high-involvement managers who like to keep their hands on the pulse of the operation during critical moments, so it is best to be proactive in including them. Other bosses prefer to delegate and be less involved. They expect you to come to them with major problems and inform them about any significant changes. When keeping these bosses in the loop, be clear on what you are doing and if there is anything you should be doing differently, let them know you welcome their input. This critical information will allow you to move to the next stage and not waste weeks of work because you did not allow your boss an opportunity to weigh in earlier. Managing up will be easier when these processes are established.
1C. Have the expectations discussion. Many people assume the boss will magically know what information to give their subordinates. Some are naturally good at this, and some are not. Be proactive at the outset and ask. What are your expectations from me? What is a good way to exchange feedback? Do not assume that just because you like to receive feedback in a particular way from your direct reports, it will be the same style as what your boss will want from you. Be proactive in uncovering expectations that will set you up for managing up success.
2. Understand their decision-making style. Do they make decisions intuitively and change their mind a lot, or do they prefer a more fact-based approach and need lots of data and time to arrive at an action slowly, or any combination of the two? When you are trying to influence, you can use their style to shape your approach. Maybe they want to be in control, so you would give them information about what you are doing and offer choices about the next steps so they can make the ultimate decision.
3. Understand your manager's strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. When you can go to them on a topic that utilizes one of their strengths, they can help more efficiently. When you go to them in an area of weakness, you may be disappointed. In that case, it can be a good opportunity for you to be proactive in taking more of a leadership role. For example, maybe your boss is not strong at creating team bonding events, you can volunteer to take the lead on that. Furthermore, knowing what they care about and advancing that interest can be helpful. Dr. Julie Kantor, Executive Coach says, “It pays to figure out what motivates your boss, do they need to look important? Find ways to help them talk about their successes.” If your boss’ boss cares about retention and building community, you can link the team bonding event to a larger and more critical initiative that would bode well for your leader.
4. Know your leader’s realities. What numbers are your boss being measured on? How is their boss defining success? What are their goals and pressures? How does your work fit into this bigger picture? You can exhibit upward empathy and learn about what the specific work is like for your boss, what makes it hard, and what might you be unintentionally contributing to the difficulty level. Without this information, you might be flying blind so your efforts to manage up would likely be fruitless.
5. Know the organization. Some organizations are more hierarchical so it can feel threatening to have direct reports speak up. Find out the informal rules so you can be more clued in on how to operate within the existing structures before you aim to make changes.
This kind of preparation can be used to develop and manage a healthy working relationship - one that is compatible with both work styles and strengths so you can do great work together.
Quote of the day: “Think twice before you speak because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” -Napoleon Hill
Q: What is one way to learn your boss’ key stated and unstated priorities? Comment and share below, we would love to hear from you!
[The next blog in this series 3/6 will focus on managing up for project work]
As a leadership development and executive coach, I work with people to sharpen their managing up skills, contact me to explore this topic further.
What do you know about your leader’s style?