HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGE UP
BY : NADINE POWRIE when you can anticipate their needs and predict their reaction , whether verbal or non-verbal .
Seven Essential Tools For Managing Up
There are seven essential tools to influence managing up :
1 . Empathy - putting yourself in someone ' s shoes .
2 . Listening and understanding their perspectives .
3 . Making sure the time is right .
As a Leadership and Executive Coach , working with leaders who lead change , overseeing a period of transition , transformation and limiting beliefs and sets of behaviours , I find ' managing up ' has become a key topic in many coaching conversations . This is not a surprise as many organisations have had to make adjustments in their senior leadership team ' s composition . Their middle leaders may well have a new line manager , and many leaders may have a new CEO .
Imagine being a middle leader with a new and experienced line manager who happens to be a micro-manager continually asking questions , having an opinion on everything you do , interfering in what you do daily and how you lead , high jacking your meetings with your teams , giving you feedback where you ' ve no idea about the ' why ' of this particular comment , for example ' you need to be closer to your teams '. What would he / she know ? And what exactly does that mean ?
The thing is , this relationship needs to work . It needs to work for several reasons : You ' re ambitious and want to continue to do well . You want that next promotion . You want to continue to lead by example and to make things happen , to lead change and to transform .
The best leaders run organisations effectively because they can strategise , prioritise , build relationships , influence others , and most importantly , make things happen .
What is ' managing up '?
' Managing up ' refers to the process of intentionally working with your line manager to obtain the best possible results for you , your line manager and your organisation . When you manage up , you become a ' Rising Leader '.
Managing up can be challenging , mainly when you are already very busy working downwards and sideways . Look at the positive side as there are different reasons why this might be a great way forward for you . It is an opportunity to develop your leadership presence so that you become more successful , not just downwards and sideways but also up . It ' s in a way , a way to influence and to pre-sell your big ideas .
Managing up successfully is about understanding what your line manager does , how they think , how they work . It ' s about their leadership style and personality , daily habits , goals , how they communicate and how others communicate effectively .
You know that you are successful
4 . Having all your facts lined up and presenting a good case — the more reliable your points , the better your chances .
5 . Speaking at a high level about the situation and knowing how to answer detailed questions .
6 . Being politely persistent .
7 . Never underestimate the power of the ' meeting before the meeting '.
Managing up is a process that is going to transform who you are . It will shape your leadership skills and traits . You move away from being a doer , and more into the driving seat because you are taking initiatives that will impact many people at all levels . You are not a subject matter expert anymore ; you have become a Thought Leader because you are accessing more data intelligence and different conversation types . It ' s not about your success anymore ; it ' s about the success of the team . Managing up helps you to manage downwards and sideways so that you create alignment .
What ' s different when you manage up ?
Tony Robbins says ' According to Compton ' s Encyclopaedia , the English language contains some 500,000 words . Yet , the average person ' s working vocabulary consists of 2,000 words , that is 0.5 % of the entire
08 Term 3 Apr - Jun 2021
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