DEVELOPMENT
How EAs can manage up effectively
As if you didn ’ t already know , your relationship with your boss is one of the things that most impacts your satisfaction — and your career prospects .
THE EXPERT
Rebecca Houghton , author of ‘ Impact : 10 Ways to Level up your Leadership ’ ($ 29.95 ), is a Leadership and Talent Expert and founder of BoldHR . Rebecca builds B-Suite leaders with C-Suite impact by working at an organisational , team and individual level .
Bad bosses are the stuff of legend , aren ’ t they ? Keas . com found that 77 % of employees experienced physical symptoms of stress from bad bosses . But being ‘ a boss ’ implies that there ’ s a relationship — to you , their direct report — which means there ’ s more than one of you on the hook here . There ’ s a million books on how to be a great boss ( aka how to manage others ), and relatively few on how to be a great direct report ( or how to manage up ).
Most of us dislike the term ‘ managing up ’ intensely . For many of us it conjures up images of greasy-pole climbers and upwardly mobile politico types . Managing up is important on every level — enhancing your day-to-day performance , removing roadblocks for your team , improving your relationship and influence , and increasing your perceived value and eventually , seniority .
Managing up doesn ’ t mean sucking up The three ‘ managing up ’ moments to master are 1:1s , the elevator pitch and executive briefings .
The elevator pitch A nightmare for most leaders is being alone in the lift with the CEO who says , “ How ’ s it going ?”. Let ’ s keep this simple but powerful — no CEO wants the long-winded version upfront . If they are interested , they will ask questions . w Done : biggest recent achievement based on business impact w Doing : your current curly problem — higher order enough that might be on their radar w To Do : what ’ s next on the horizon ?
The executive brief Getting it right with busy executives , especially those who don ’ t know you well , needs structure . Getting it wrong makes you look unplanned , uncertain or unclear — none of which are promotable traits ! w Purpose : What is this conversation for ? To inform , sign off , consult or negotiate on what topic ? w Product : What outcome do you seek ? — don ’ t make them guess . w People : Who is involved in this ? To help them determine the influencing landscape . w Process : What commitment should they plan for ? Is this a short or long conversation , a one-off meeting , or going to lead to a repeat commitment such as a board or committee ? w Preparation : What might your executive need to prepare ahead of this conversation so that you — and they — get the most out of your time together ?
1:1s with your direct boss This relationship is crucial to you and to your team . Try to treat this relationship with the following mindset : w I need this : my relationship with my boss is key to my success ( and that of my team ). w This relationship is two-way : we both need something from each other and we both contribute strengths and weaknesses to the mix . w He / she has a lot on their mind , and a lot of competition for their time , so I need to get smart about how I use my slice of it .
To balance your relationship with your leader , giving both of you what you need , I recommend you approach your regular catchups with the following model in mind : w Ask them for their help — specifically on the things that are outside your sphere of control or you are struggling to influence quickly . w Tell them what they need to know : Contrary to most inner voices , flagging risks ( and mitigants ) early and often does not make you look bad , it actually makes you look good . A nasty surprise , on the other hand , is hard to forgive because it makes THEM look bad . w Ask them what they need : Even at C suite , the upward management never stops , so actively play your role — it benefits both of you and will reflect well on your team , too .
Managing up doesn ’ t have to mean sucking up . The key reason many of us don ’ t do it is because we think it ’ s self-serving , when in fact it ’ s in service of your team , your peers , and your organisation . Your ability to leverage your leaders as an asset will massively lift your organisational impact — which is better for everyone . S www . boldhr . com . au
Summer Issue 2021 | Executive PA 61