Trainer and Conference Speaker FRANK NEWBERRY begins a series on ‘Managing Upwards’ or ‘managing the boss’.
In Part 1 Frank gives the first five of his ten tips for people who have just one boss to worry about.
Managing Upwards ‘One to One’
1. Its a Priority Time Commitment
The first hurdle we have to get over is whether we should even have to manage ‘upwards’ at all. A couple of things come to mind.
First, I hope you have not been waiting patiently for your boss to take an interest in you, or to move onto your work ‘agenda’ occasionally? I waited years for my boss to move onto mine and s/he never showed up! I realise now, in hindsight, that s/he was too busy managing upwards to take an interest in me.
Secondly, the lack of attention and interest from on high was my fault. My experience, skill and positive self motivation encouraged a low maintenance approach by my managers. They thought I did not need them, that I had no problems and that I was happy where I was, doing what I was doing. It was only when someone, that I did not rate that highly, got a promotion in another department that I realised I was being taken for granted.
2. It’s A Question of Mind Over Matter
If you are having a similar time of it, the strategy you might want to consider is to first get your own work under control, to the extent that you can, and then start building a better rapport with your boss.
A good definition of rapport I discovered went something like this: ‘rapport is a communication or relationship that has harmony and usefulness’.
Now my rapport with my managers was somewhat incomplete. It had harmony and usefulness from their point of view but not from mine. From my end it had harmony okay but I was unwittingly keeping myself at a distance. I learned that if I was doing a good job and not pushing my managers for more attention, more resources, more opportunities etc. it was a question of ‘mind over matter’. They didn’t mind and I didn’t matter.
3. Only One World of Work
I quickly learned that if I wanted to manage upwards I had to focus on only one work agenda, only one world of work - my boss’s world of work. Given that I was seen by my boss as experienced and very competent in my own job - this was not hard for me to do.
At my next meeting with my manager I dispensed with my report fairly quickly and started to take a real interest in what he was doing. He was grateful for the attention and was delighted when I suggested that I help him out on a few of his tasks.
I tried something along the lines of ‘you shouldn’t have to be worrying about that. Let me take that over so that you
have more time to look at this other more important issue’. He was so pleased that I did not even have to deploy the ‘let’s do it for a trial period, see how we go’ strategy. I saved that up for when I wanted real power and influence delegated to me later on.
4. Check Your Assumptions
I started to notice that when I got a promotion, or a new job or a new boss, and once the management knew I was competent, I could build a rapport with them very quickly. I had to check my assumptions though, which is easier when you are working on someone else’s agenda. I used to blithely think that, because I liked to delegate higher level work, develop and promote staff, everyone was the same as me. I was wrong. So, I had to build a rapport by getting closer to the views, preferences and issues that my bosses thought were important. I had to find out what they were worried about and where I could make a contribution that would be valued.
5. Do Some Succession Planning
Once I had a real rapport and was highly valued by my managers my promotion prospects were never an issue. However, having waited a long time, I was keen to get promotion quickly. Whilst I waited for promotion opportunities to arise I needed to upgrade my role
and my CV and, at the same time, reassure my boss that my advancement would not hurt his team’s results.
My strategy was to get my name on his succession plan, meaning that if he got promoted or left the organisation for a better job, then I would be named as his successor and would perform his duties until a permanent successor could be found. This meant that I was in pole position for his/her job because I would make sure that I did it really well in the intervening weeks. Wasn’t I already doing parts of it anyway?
In order to achieve this status I had to demonstrate to my boss that I had my successor all ready to take over from me. Accordingly, I was able to say that I was coaching and mentoring that individual in the same way that I myself was being developed to perform well at the higher level.
In the next issue we will look at the five more tips and, in a later edition, we will start to explore managing ‘multiple’ bosses i.e. ‘Managing Upwards: Boards and Committees’
If you would like to attend one of Frank’s excellent courses run by
Pitchcare.com or you have an urgent question about managing upwards you can contact Frank either at
Pitchcare.com or via the ‘Contact’ tab of his personal website
www.franknewberry.com
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